Kobe Bryant is a symbol of dedication and excellence who, throughout his career, subjected himself to a ruthless training routine and constant high standards. This article decodes Kobe Bryant's training habits and the secrets of his preparation.
When it comes to Kobe Bryant, it would be risky to establish a routine with a typical day, because it varied depending on the time of year (pre-season, regular season, play-offs) and because his training evolved over the course of his career.
But that is not the main point. What needs to be remembered are the core principles of the Lakers player's training, and in the background, the most important element: his obsession with work and success. In Kobe Bryant's life, everything he does is geared towards performance, and that is what we are going to discover throughout this article.
Contents
- Go above and beyond
- physical training
- Basketball training
- Mental
- Game analysis
- Recovery
- Other routes / Questions for the great champions
Kobe Bryant's workout: outworking everyone else
«There are no shortcuts to success. If you want to be the best, you must be prepared to work harder than everyone else.» – Kobe Bryant
It is well known that Kobe Bryant trained harder than others and his late-night sessions have become legendary. To achieve this, he would get up at the crack of dawn to benefit from an extra workout in the morning, and he would also add evening training sessions whenever possible.
These efforts were supported by faultless consistency. Whether it was the day after a defeat, following a victory or even after a relaxed meal, as his former teammate and friend bears witness Pau Gasol : “I was sitting next to him and, just as we were leaving, he invited me to go to the gym. I already knew he was used to working out outside of traditional training sessions, but this time, it blew my mind. After that very relaxed meal, everyone was just thinking about going to bed, except Kobe: his mind kept telling him to prepare, over and over again, for the rest of the competition.”
He would often repeat to his Lakers teammates: “If you want to be better, then prepare tirelessly, over and over again.”
This routine was gruelling and difficult on a daily basis. It also drained his energy, but he continued to follow it all year round because he knew it made him stronger and better prepared than his opponents.
Kobe Bryant's physical training: heavy stuff
Kobe Bryant started weight training when he arrived in the NBA at the age of 17. He followed basic training methods involving muscle-group workouts and heavy weights. During the regular season or in the summer, he would do three 90-minute sessions a week—sessions that he describes as very intense: “(...) when I say lifting I mean heavy, very heavy, the kind that feels like your arms are being torn off. And after that I'd go to the hall to shoot.” Even though physical preparation trends evolved throughout his career, he stayed true to his method, based on the principle that: “If something has worked with other champions before you and if it works for you, then why change. Stay true to what works, even if it is not fashionable.”
As for cardio, he worked on it mainly in the pre-season. His idea was to reproduce the effort made in a match, with accelerations over short distances. He focused on recovery times (between two sprints), which he reduced as he progressed through his preparation, ending up at the end of the summer with almost zero recovery times.
Basketball training: enriching the repertoire and ironing out flaws
Kobe Bryant in training
From childhood, Kobe Bryant spent hours playing basketball alone, to enrich his game with new moves. Throughout his career he kept this habit of enriching his technical repertoire whenever he could: “I used to see something new, I would record it, and I would reproduce it with precision.”
His individual workouts also allowed him to work on his weaknesses. A poor outside shooter at the start of his career, he worked relentlessly on this aspect to become the NBA's leading scorer in 2005-2006. Kobe Bryant built a game without flaws, always seeking to self-analyse and transform his shortcomings into qualities.
During team training sessions, he demanded maximum intensity from his teammates and the coach.“He wanted to see what you were made of, to find out if you could help him win. It was as simple as that.” Explain Paul Gasol.
The mind: concentration and right attitude
To improve his concentration, Kobe Bryant took part in Phil Jackson's famous team yoga sessions, but as with every other aspect, he also put in individual work. He explains how: “To catch the slightest detail of what was happening on the court, I practised outside of matches and in everyday life. In my reading, in class, and during training, I constantly worked on my concentration. In this way, I strengthened my ability to stay connected to the present, not letting my mind wander.”
The other aspect of his mental preparation is putting himself in the best possible conditions before the match. According to Kobe Bryant, it is very important to find the right mental state for a game. For certain matches he needed to pump himself up, whereas for others he conversely needed to calm down. For him, everything comes down to this awareness.
Game analysis: attention to detail pushed to the extreme
Kobe Bryant pushed his understanding of the game and his opponents to a level rarely reached. Throughout his career, and from a very young age, he watched hours and hours of video to analyse his own game, that of his team and of his opponents, in order to spot new moves. He would sometimes summon his teammates to dissect opponent game footage with them on the eve of matches.
During his career, Kobe Bryant also studied the referees' rulebook, which very few players do. This allowed him to know how referees should position themselves and he took advantage of this, as he knew he could commit fouls by positioning himself in their blind spots.
Recovery: the power of micro-naps
To be able to train more and enjoy time with his family, Kobe Bryant deliberately sacrificed his sleep. Yet outside of standard treatments (physiotherapy, ice), he also used the power of micro-naps. Before training, before a match, on the bus or on the massage table, he knew that a 15-minute nap could give him back the energy he needed.
As he got older, he also modified his training routine by moving away from explosiveness and focusing on recovery and prevention. This allowed him to stay in the NBA at the highest level for 20 years, recovering from several serious injuries, including an Achilles tendon rupture in 2003 that seemed to doom him to end his career.
Make the most of every opportunity to progress
Finally, it is interesting to see how Kobe Bryant made the most of every moment of life and every opportunity to improve, sometimes not hesitating to think outside the box.
He recounts that around the age of 6 he could not accept the idea that his left hand was weak, and that he practised brushing his teeth or writing his name with it.
Later on, he made a habit of questioning former basketball champions or those from other sports at length to extract information that could help him become better.
This is the very essence of Mamba Mentality : “Originally, Mamba Mentality was just a catchy hashtag I’d started on Twitter. A clever, easily memorable slogan. But it ended up gathering momentum and taking on a greater meaning.
The mindset in question is not just about seeking the best result: rather, it is about taking an interest in everything that can lead to that result. It is a journey towards excellence. It is a method, a lifestyle. And I am convinced that having this mindset is essential, whatever your life's project.”
So it was with this approach that during the year 2000, Kobe Bryant took up tap dancing. After a very bad ankle sprain, he did some research, and it appeared to him that one of the best ways to strengthen his ankles, while maintaining flexibility and improving his foot speed, was to practise tap dancing. He therefore hired a dance teacher and this proved beneficial for his rehabilitation and for the rest of his career.
This article was written based on the magnificent book “Kobe Bryant Mamba Mentality – How I Play”. In conclusion, I invite you to read this book, with a foreword by Phil Jackson and Pau Gasol, which is much more than a book about basketball, but a true journey in the quest for excellence.
Book cover of «Kobe Bryant - Mamba Mentality, How I Play»
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