#076 - Behind the Scenes of CU Basketball Summer Training | Cardio Chats
Go behind the scenes of CU Basketball’s summer training in this Cardio Chats episode. From NIL challenges to altitude acclimation, VBT, plyos, and our legendary dunk contest, I share the raw, unfiltered details of how we build stronger, faster, more resilient athletes in Boulder.
In this “Cardio Chats” edition of the Decoding Excellence Show, I’m pulling back the curtain on our Summer Basketball Training Program here in Boulder, Colorado—sharing the real behind-the-scenes details of how we prepare our athletes for the demands of a long, grueling season.
This is raw, unfiltered, and recorded mid-Zone 2 ruck walk—no studio, no edits—just me sharing what’s really happening in our summer block: the successes, the challenges, and the lessons learned.
During the Cardio Talk
I comprehensively break down the following topics:
- The death of Long-Term Athletic Development in the NIL era
- Managing NIL contracts, constant roster turnover, and short prep windows
- Using VALD Performance testing to fast-track development and identify individual needs
- Benchmark data for return-to-sport baselines
- Triaging immediate needs vs. “nice-to-have” improvements
- Safe altitude acclimatization & training volume progression (CSCCa/NSCA joint guidance)
- Building a standardized summer plan that branches into tailored individual programming
- Exposure to sport-specific stressors—loading tendons, ligaments, and muscles for durability
- Integrating soft-surface training to reduce joint stress while increasing volume
- Adding gymnastics-style movements like crawling, tumbling, and rolling for coordination and robustness
- Training linear & multi-directional sprint mechanics
- Structuring our four-day training split:Day 1 & 2: Progressive overload strength training (Upper/Lower)Day 3: Escalating Density Training (EDT) conditioning circuitsDay 4: Tissue prep for intensive plyometric and power work
- Using leadership development by seeding EDT teams to encourage athlete-led problem solving
- First half of summer = tissue prep (ankle/knee/hip focus)
- Second half = power development through jumps, bounds, speed deadlifts, and VBT barbell work
- Avoiding plyometric progression errors with long-duration isometrics & tendon prehab
- Leveraging Output Sports VBT to train in the speed-strength zone
- Applying Post-Activation Potentiation (PAP) in jump & power sessions
- Ending summer with CU’s legendary dunk contest—weighted balls, dodgeballs, deflated balls, and more to challenge grip, creativity, and athleticism
Whether you’re a strength coach, sport scientist, or high-performance practitioner, this episode is a complete blueprint of how we’re navigating modern college basketball’s evolving landscape—balancing science, art, and the gritty realities of athlete development.
If you’re serious about training design, athlete monitoring, or building durable and explosive players, this one’s loaded with practical takeaways you can apply immediately.
Thanks again for listening to the Decoding Excellence Show! I appreciate all the support growing this Sport Science, Strength & Conditioning, and High-Performance Coaching resource. If you have taken anything away from the show, please login to iTunes and navigate to Decoding Excellence page and leave us a FIVE STAR ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review.
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Adam Ringler
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