Basketball

[Rawr]

My squat has dropped probably 50-70 pounds through two weeks of basketball. Should I just not be lifting on weekends and hope my legs can recover and get used to the running and start lifting in a couple weeks, or just start at a lower weight and start working my way back up?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Prioritize. It's an important concept.

[Rawr]

I guess I'll go talk to somebody who knows more about this stuff.

[Mark Rippetoe]

You don't know what I mean, do you?

[Rawr]

You don't know what I mean, do you?

I'm assuming you mean to decide if I want to play basketball or squat very much. That isn't an option, and if you think I have to choose one or the other then I will just go to somebody else who can help me.

[Mark Rippetoe]

You will come to understand that it is an option, whether you want it to be or not. You can't perform at a competitive level in two sports with radically different metabolic requirements.

[Rawr]

You will come to understand that it is an option, whether you want it to be or not. You can't perform at a competitive level in two sports with radically different metabolic requirements.

Really? What is your explanation for the people that do?

[Egrof]

I'm assuming you mean to decide if I want to play basketball or squat very much. That isn't an option, and if you think I have to choose one or the other then I will just go to somebody else who can help me.

Rawr, you seem to assume that if you lay off the lifting for a few weeks your body will somehow adapt to both of those tasks with no consequences whatsoever.
This is wrong according to my experience with such situations.
I don't think that Coach Rip meant that you should give up on one of them(I may be wrong though) but that you will not see the same results as if you were.
You probably won't be able to increase the load on the bar as fast as the program asks for.

Just understand the fact that you will suffer some performance hit depending on the priority you give for each one.
Also, I find it hard to believe that you are the first basketball player that Rip has to deal with.

[TravisRussellDC]

You're going to come to find this statement very true whether you take the advice of those with more experience than you, or if you're stubborn enough to keep keep trying on your own until you come to the realization in your own time:

You will have to choose which is more important to you: playing basketball at a competitive level, or squatting at a competitive level.

These two activities have such drastically different requirements that you cannot compete at an elite level in both. That's not to say that you can't have a decent squat while maintaining a decent level of skill playing basketball. And it's not saying that you can't play basketball at a decent level without having a decent squat. But you cannot perform these two activities at an elite level at the same time. How many pro basketball players do you see lifting weights at an elite level? How many powerlifters and weightlifters do you see in the NBA?

Now, it depends on your level of competition. If you want to play some pick up ball on Wednesday nights at the local gymnasium, then by all means put a large amount of weight on your squat. You'll probably be fine. But if you're talking about playing college ball or even at the pro level, then your goals in the weight room are going to be very different than putting pounds on your squat.

In the end, if you want to attain a high level at either squatting or the sport of basketball, then you're going to have to prioritize.

[Rawr]

Rawr, you seem to assume that if you lay off the lifting for a few weeks your body will somehow adapt to both of those tasks with no consequences whatsoever.

No, I'm not saying that. More than anything this seems to be a fatigue thing to me. I was just trying to ask if squatting on the weekends was going to add to the fatigue and make things worse, or help me out.