Exercise Routine
 

Since I am new and won't start officiating any games until next year, I thought this is a good time to get into better shape and get prepared for next season. So I was curious, what are some of your workout routines? I will be running more over the summer and can stand to drop a few pounds, but before I started a plan I wanted to see what everyone else did too.

I do triathlons.............steam, shower, shave.

There was a really good workout routine posted in the latest referee magazine by an NBA official, including sprint work, cardio and resistance training.

I will have to write that one down to keep the order straight. :)

I will have to check that out. I used to work out pretty religiously a few years ago, but have slacked off, so I need to get back in the routine.

Real officials do pentathlons. .....steam, shower, shampoo, sh!t, shave.....

I limber up my arms to get them in shape for calling technicals by continuously popping meds into my mouth. Gotta tell ya', my elbow muscles are now world class.

Me too....
http://1000smilies.com/animated/beerpull.gif

Now that is a good workout.

I would seriously consider building up the muscles around your knees if you plan on working many games. The daily grind on the knees can be pretty brutal for a first year ref. Not all the surfaces you'll referee on will be the kindest on the body.

It's called the DOTU(tm) workout.

Thanks for the advice, I wanted to gear things toward the legs and stamina. Maybe some outdoor running can help to build up the knees somewhat.

I see you slipped that into your sig. Very nice.

Anyway, back to the topic... when I get the urge to exercise I go & lie down until it passes.

Note that the running that an official does is not like running a long-distance race. It's running a series of sprints with a brief rest period in between.

Thus, I tend to use interval training when doing my running / aerobic workout.

Good advice Bob, thanks. I hadn't really thought about interval training, but it does make more sense than going for distance.

How old are you?

My off-season workouts now that I'm in my 40's are not the same as when I was in my early 30's. :mad:

I used to do lots of sprints and jogging in the off-season and ref a little rec ball now and then too.

Now my off-season fitness is much more low impact. Lots of cardio machines at the gym now instead of the running that aggravates my achilles (which is always sore with tendinitis by the end of the season).

I am 34 and in fairly decent shape. That is one of the reasons I posted this, to kind of get a perspective for what a variety of people do. I think I will be able to start off with sprints and jogging, then see where it goes. If I need to tone it down then I can.

My main thing is I want to make sure I am good to go for next year, so I want to start getting back to the workouts sooner, rather than later.

Running and weight training are what I (try to) do. I realize that basketball is a series of sprints, but doing some distance running forces your body to adapt to a different kind of running, become stronger overall, and increases overall stamina. And weight training for the core, especially the legs, is beneficial to running as well. Don't neglect the upper body, as pumping the arms is an important component in the overall ability to run well.

So, pretty much an overall general workout. I can see where it would be easy to neglect the upper body and focus on the lower. Thanks for the advice.

There's a lot of good advice in this thread, but I'll just add what I'm doing this year.

The biggest thing in my limited experience is that while we're never going to be asked to run a 5 mile race, endurance is critical to what we do. So doing some endurance training during the off-season is important, IMO, and frankly easier (at least for me) to do. 3-5 miles per day 5 days a week (doesn't have to be road running or treadmill, can also gain the benefit through elliptical machine or other cardio-heavy workouts) does the trick for me.

Distance work (3-5 mile/day range) also helps develop very good strength in your legs to support your joints, as long as you don't have issues with impact. Some sort of weight training is absolutely critical as well. I lift 2-3 times per week pretty hard. (I lift like this during the season as well, but use my games as my cardio workouts with just really light, low-impact work on off-days mainly to loosen up and keep my joint pain at a minimum.)

If you really want to take it to anther level after getting to a good level of fitness, doing speed work and working on your running form will make you much more effective at getting in the proper position, especially in transition, and just make you look better on the court. This is what I want to focus on hard going into camp season this summer and then as the season approaches next fall.

Thanks for the advice jdw3018. I think a good combination of sprints and distance throughout the week will help out. I would like to get back in the gym, so I will have to look into getting a membership. I used to work out in the facility they provided at my last job, now I really miss it.

I recommend everyone start a running program, but you have to get your body ready for it. That means 2 weeks of nothing but walking for up to 45 minutes at a time (or per day). Start as much as you can, but move toward 45 by the end of the 2 weeks. In week 3, start jogging. How much you do depends on what kind of shape you are in, but take it easy. You can start out with, say, 30 seconds of jogging followed by a minute (or 2 minutes) and a half of walking. Add 30 seconds per week -- i.e. a minute of jogging, then a minute and a half. Keep the time around 45 minutes to an hour. At some point, you'll be able to jog continuously. Do whatever distance -- 3 miles, 5 miles, whatever -- you can do in the 45-60 minute time frame. You can run a little longer if you want, but that needs to be your minimum time.

Your conditioning will be as good as anyone you work with. Just be prepared to buy new pants.

Don't overlook the possibility of a local church that has indoor exercise equipment. My church has 4 basketball courts with an overhead walk/jogging track. Bikes, treadmills, ellipticals, Free weight room, Machine weight room, racket ball room even a rock climbing wall. Church members pay $15 per year, non-members pay $30. Last summer when I rehabbed from my hip replacement I was there 6 day a week.

I got serious about my conditioning after having some early season pain and discomfort (and realizing I was carrying far too many extra pounds), and by the time the season was over even the flex belt couldn't keep my original pants up.

My wife had taken to calling them clown pants anyway, so I guess it was good I got new ones. :D

Thanks for the advice everybody, it is all good and will be put to good use. I just need to get out there and get things going.

I exercise in non-conventional ways.

I play hoops 3 times a week but it's with some older guys and I don't get much exercise.

I pick chores around the house and turn them into exercise.

For instance, I may power rake for an hour followed 45 minutes of log splitting.

I may chainsaw logs for an hour and then power mow my yard.(5 acres)

I find ways to turn daily routines and chores into exercise.

I find that variety is the key when it comes to workouts....for strength training as well as cardio....

I like to change up my routine every few weeks. It keeps my body "challenged" and keeps me from getting bored with workouts.

I just finished my first year of officiating and found that, at least during the season, I don't need to lift as much. I felt too "muscle-bound" I guess, and at times didn't feel as "fluid" as I thought I should. I backed off the lifting some during the season and seemed to feel better. I'll definately remember that next year!:eek:

What the hey.............throw a sauna in there too.

What's wrong with clown pants? These are mine. They look great with my ref jersey.

http://www.mooseburger.com/onlinesto...yjackpants.jpg

Weigh yourself and document your weight. I weigh myself every Monday, Wednesday, & Thursday after working out. I'm always heaviest on Monday and my lightest on Thursday's, the one day a week I play pick-up basketball.

I like the changing it up routine. I tend to get bored with the same thing, so that will be really helpful.

I won't post my specific training plan because I don't think it will be helpful generally (I train for marathons and so run a lot), but I will add one important point that I haven't yet seen mentioned in this thread (perhaps I missed it...) and echo a few others:

1. Don't forget to include a serious stretching and flexibility routine as a part of ANY training program. Your flexiblity will go a long way toward helping you avoid injury.

2. I agree with others that core strengthening is very important.

3. I agree with others that the running that officials do is not just straight and at a distance, so including intervals, shuttles and other types of speed work are helpful.

4. Although you certainly don't need marathoning endurance, I think endurance training helps officials be better. It's easier to be focused and mentally sharp when you're not tired (that's true for anything) and so making sure that you have the endurance to do the necessary running is important.

When I finally committed to getting in shape, it had a whole bunch of benefits for my life, including but by no means limited to, my officiating. I think getting in shape and being in shape is a gift you keep giving to yourself and your loved ones.

Thank you for your input bgtg19, you make some really good points. I will be including some serious stretching in my routine, I want to make sure I am as flexible as I can be. Your advice, as well as everyone else's, is very much appreciated.

Mike, What part of Illinois are you from? You should join an association. Several guys on here can steer you in the right direction.

I am from the Western side about an hour from Iowa. I used to work with a guy that is a basketball referee and that was the first direction he pointed me. So, I contacted my local association and sent in my check. They seemed pretty eager to talk to me, so I am sure they will be a big help too.

Mike, I belong to 2 and they have both been more help than I ever imagined. Just be patient and learn from the vets. Pick up some summer games too. They help alot. Good luck.

I couldn't agree more with this statement.

I'm still relatively young, and was getting by on that (and that alone) while packing on a couple pounds a year every year. This year was finally enough. For the first time since high school I'm doing some sort of regular exercise and the benefits outside of officiating have been tremendous.

I'll never go back.

I am ready to learn whatever they want to teach me. Between the experienced referees and hanging out here, I will pick up a lot of knowledge. I had been thinking about doing this for quite a while, now I only wish I would have sooner.

I am in the same position, every year I seem to gain a little more. So, now it is time to take care of things.

Hey! Those match my shoes!
http://www.magic.org/store/images/ShoBeesRdBluYel.jpg

This is an excellent point that needs to be emphasized in a slightly different context: if you can work through discomfort (if in real pain, you need to see a doc) in your routine, that will make you that much stronger mentally for those tough games or the ends of those double or triple headers. I think a lot of our fatigue isn't physical but mental. Tough day at work; partner is running a few minutes late; dealing with coaches and know it all table crew; etc. Heck, sometimes I'm worn out before the ball is tossed!

Teach yourself to put the discomfort (or bad stuff on the floor) out of your mind. You will be a much better official.

Hate to break it to you, but that's probably only because you sweat the most on that day.

Gee, never thought of that. ;)

My point is that I compare my weight week-to-week--last 4 Monday's, last 4 Tuesday's, last 4 Thursday's; not day-to-day. My weight fluctuates 3-4 lbs during the week. But if this Monday (my high weight) I start off 2lbs lighter than last Monday then hopefully my Thursday weigh-in (my low weight) will be 2lbs lighter than last Thursday.

Isometrics
 

Almost forgot to add, but a good way to build tone and strengthen your knees is to do isometric exercises. One example would be to straighten your knee, contract and release your quads, then repeat a few times. You won't burn many calories, but you'll bulk up the quadriceps muscles and give more support and strength to the knee.

Good piece of advice. I have never done any isometric exercises before, so I will have to do a little research to see how there done. I have heard the term before, but can't remember where I heard it now.

Another good idea:

After getting done officiating at 9:30/10pm instead of grabbing a couple beers and burger at the local meeting spot, go home, get in bed early then wake up early and do a light work-out.

Heresy.

Heresy, I tell ya!

Of course, I don't drink beer, so in my case it's L.I.T's or Cap'n&Cokes. :)

If you haven't eaten since lunch or even midafternoon, skipping a meal isn't healthy. It will slow down your metabolism for one thing.

There's nothing wrong with eating after a game. Just eat smart. And save the beer and pizza for one day during the weekend.

I try to make sure I eat before my games. I've become devoted to pre-game hot dogs. Then a small bowl of cereal when I get home.

Cereal...
 

Ah, there's nothing like a good bowl of cereal at night.

Thanks... where's my Honey Nut Cheerios?

This is from a guy that thinks Grape Nuts is a venereal disease.:rolleyes:

Hey Socalreff, you gotta PM from me.

Just wanted to bump this topic and see how everyone is progressing. I worked some spring league games last night, and though I'm a little bit out of basketball season condition (legs were sore due to sprint-stop-sprint type running), my current running and conditioning program paid dividends in that my achilles tendinitis didn't affect me and that chronic groin issue (no wise cracks, JR) I've had wasn't a problem last night and especially this morning.

I WAS tired, but after 2 hours of essentially streetball following a full work day, who wouldn't be?

I went to the spiece camp in ft wayne this weekend and worked 8 games between 730p friday and 2p sunday. I felt great the whole time, never out of breath, never tired. I did a work out routine for 6 weeks to get in shape for it. I did the same interval training as often as possible. If my legs got sore or I played softball or worked some rec games, I'd take the following day off to rest. For the first 4.5 weeks or so, I would get on the treadmill walk a quarter mile and then run a quarter mile and so on for a total of 3 miles. That would take about 42 minutes or so and then I'd walk at a good pace until I got to an hour and I'd wind up around 4 miles by the end. For the last 1.5 weeks I wanted to increase my stamina to I would walk .25 miles and run .5 miles and so on until I hit the 3 miles. I'd mix in some stationary bike work if I got bored. I'm a big fan of interval training b/c I hate running and it's boring. Hope this helps.

And I included this with a reduced calorie diet. I dropped about 17 pounds in that amount of time before camp.

Happy to report I'm still going strong - down about 45 lbs. since Thanksgiving, and 37 lbs. since Jan 2 when I really started tracking weight. In the last 6 weeks I've incorporated a pretty solid, but simple, weight training routine 3 times a week, and combine that with some steady-state cardio (3-4 mile runs), interval work of different types, and biking.

I haven't had any games to work lately, but when I hit camp season starting next month, I'll have 3 camps in 4 weeks and look forward to being more well-conditioned than I have been since I was playing...

I am starting to get in a pretty good groove with jogging/running. I haven't really dropped much weight, a few pounds here and there, but my running endurance is getting stronger. I have my first camp and games coming up next month, so I have been stepping things up a bit too.

I usually work out 3 times a week before the season and do a lot of running. I lift weights, just to build upper body strength.....

I'm the poster boy for hating running. I never liked it growing up. I hated doing it in all sports, and I've resisted getting into a solid running program my entire adult life even though I've started one perhaps 15-20 times. Each time I quit, probably due to either starting too fast or not seeing results fast enough -- usually a combination of both. 3 years ago in June, I decided to not only research running programs but do a critical self analysis: why did I quit in the past and what can I do to not quit now? While I've gone on and off that program since 2005, I can say the program itself works for me and when I return, I stay with it. Now, I actually LIKE running. In some ways, my morning run is now the highlight of my day -- its certainly a big priority. As far as seeing results fast enough, well, how fast am I going to see results by sitting on the couch?

The bottom line is that if you do it right (and right for you may be different than it is for me), I think in the long run (no pun intended) you will enjoy running. That thing called runner's high really does exist -- even for those that do a walk/run with light running.

Boredom? No problem. Go get a $79 Apple iPod shuffle and load it up. Rap, classical, metal, whatever. I'm fixing to load mine up with audio Bible chapters. However, I've gotten to where I don't even take it with me, as running in the morning is so peaceful, even in the city. I often find myself thinking about officiating. Play situations, handling coaches and players, etc. I think back on past situations that went wrong and replay them in my mind with me doing the right thing. Before I know it, I'm done.

Too funny. That's exaclty what I did as well. Only, I have a 60 GB video iPod. I found a great Catholic bible (OT+NT) for $22 as MP3s. Also found a nice NT with 10's of famous people contributing their voices. It is only the KJV, so the language is not what I truly want.

I disagree with this to an extent. Of course we do sprints up and down the court. But just doing an interval workout will yield little results. A few weeks in the offseason of distance training (not even that much, maybe 2-4 miles) will help your muscles...then the interval training can come after it.

Other than for pure long-distance/endurance racing, high intensity interval training is far more effective to increase cardiovascular and respiratory capacity. Some long-distance steady-state cardio is great for building endurance, but a long run or two a week combined with two sessions of interval training and some strength training will be much more effective - especially for officiating - than simply going out and running 3 miles.

All that said, I still run 3-4 miles a couple times a week. :D

I do somewhat of a mix of interval and steady rate distance. I try to mix it up a little and alternate to keep things interesting. One week I will do more interval and the next I will do more steady paced distance. I am trying to get the best of both worlds.

Sounds great...I certainly can't do the same thing every day, so I mix the steady-state with intervals, plus do some swimming and biking. Even considering training for a sprint triathlon, but being up off the couch is a big accomplishment at this point. ;)

Here is my workout for the off-season. Being a full time college student it's nice to use the gym for free, even though technically i pay for it.

M-W-F: weight training with 30min of cardio. Bicep curls, triceps, lat pull downs, seat row, leg press, rotary calf, torso rotations, 320 ab cruntches, 30 min run (3.5 miles).

T-Th-Sat: hour of cardio, recumbent bike or 6mile run, 320 ab cruntches.

sunday or sat is an off day. I mix it up the routines and do different things but basically i follow this.

During the season I try to follow the same routine, but cut down on the amount exercises. so like on MWF schedule i may just do 3 exercise with 20-30 min cardio. the cardio for me before a game is a good way to warm up. But hey lets face it when the season comes around it's hard to find time in the gym. esepecially if i got drive far for a college game. But when I have the time I'm in there working out at school or at the house with my weights and bike.

Another bump. Its starting to get hotter down here even early in the morning. I didn't think the heat that early would kick in until mid-June. Makes the runs a bit tougher, but will pay dividends in late August when football starts.

How's everyone else coming along?

Another bump to see how things are coming along. For me, conditioning is improved and due to the heat in the morning, I'm not terribly worried about scrimmages and games starting in a couple of weeks (for football). By basketball season, I'll need new pants.

I have slacked off a little in the morning with the heat, but all in all still moving along. On the mornings I don't run, I do ride my bike for a while, so at least I am getting something done.

I've dropped 20lbs since March 1st. Lots of cardio (varied: eliptical; treadmill; spinning; jogging), lite weight-lifting, once-a-week pick-up basketball. Also, though not on a diet, I've improved my diet greatly.

I'm now down over 50 lbs. since last November. Consistent working out for the first time in over 10 years has made a world of difference for me - camp season was incredibly easy physically, relative to the season and last year.

Up through the spring I was focused on a lot of interval training and weight lifting with my longest runs being 3-4 miles. This summer I've started triathlon training and now swim, bike and run a lot. 40-50 mile bike rides once a week, a long run (8-10 miles), and then shorter rides, runs, and a bit of pool time in between. It's all made a huge difference in my cardiovascular fitness.

I'm planning to get back to some speed training and in the weight room more consistently again after I complete my last triathlon in early fall so I can be ready for the season.

I will never go back to not working out, as long as I am physically able. I feel so much better (and lighter!) than before.