LeBron James’ workout combines core and shoulder work with ball reaction drills and weighted squats as he enters his 24th NBA season.
A workout shaped by the demands of another season
LeBron James’ latest workout offers a practical look at how he’s preparing for a record-extending 24th NBA season: the routine pairs strength work with mobility and basketball-specific reactions. At 41, he’s also become the first player in NBA history to reach 16,000 field goals, a milestone that gives added context to the physical demands he’s managed over a long career. The achievement speaks to sustained production; it doesn’t, by itself, show how he’ll perform in the season ahead.
A video posted by the NBA on Instagram less than a week before James’ regular-season debut with the Philadelphia 76ers showed a session built around controlled movement and ball handling. The sequence suggests a focus on staying strong while preserving the coordination his game requires. A short video can show what an athlete is practicing, but it can’t reveal the full training plan, the intensity of the work or how the session fits into his preparation.
Strength work with mobility built in
James uses a kettlebell to stretch his obliques and engage his core. In another sequence, he presses a pair of dumbbells overhead, brings them together, then lowers them slowly into an elbow squeeze. He finishes the repetition with a rear-delt fly, extending the work across his shoulders and chest. The measured pace appears deliberate: lowering a weight under control can keep muscles working through more of the movement, while combining shoulder motion with a press asks for coordination as well as force.
The routine also includes weighted squats and drills aimed at building lower-body explosiveness and improving his ability to stop. That pairing matters for a player whose game depends on changing pace and direction as well as generating power. Starting and stopping place different demands on the body, so a session that addresses both offers a more useful picture than a collection of strength exercises alone.
This is more significant than it looks. For an older player, preserving the ability to move well may matter as much as adding strength; the video suggests James’ work accounts for both, though it can’t tell us how he’ll hold up across a season.
Ball work puts reactions to the test
For a more basketball-specific challenge, James kneels on a bench while a partner tosses the ball to either side. He has to balance, turn, catch it one-handed and return it in a quick motion. With his lower body constrained, the drill shifts attention to balance, coordination and reaction speed. It’s a compact exercise, but it asks him to respond to an unpredictable cue while keeping control of the ball.
Research suggests that reaction training outside an athlete’s sport can support cognitive performance. That broad finding provides a reason such drills might interest athletes, but it doesn’t establish how much this particular exercise affects James’ play. (And this is the part most people overlook.) A drill’s resemblance to game action doesn’t prove it improves game performance; the video shows a training choice, not a measured result.
If you’re working in this space, the useful detail is the combination: strength, controlled movement and a decision that has to happen quickly. The drill offers a visible example of how a gym session can include more than lifting, while leaving the actual payoff an open question.
What the routine says about the season ahead
James has made his ambitions clear. Before the season, he said: “I didn’t leave my family (in Los Angeles) to lose in the second round. I know that for sure. Work needs to be done and I’m ready to get to work.” The quote sets a competitive aim, while the workout gives a limited view of the preparation behind it. Neither guarantees a particular result.
With a historic scoring milestone behind him and another season underway, the routine points to a straightforward priority: keep building the strength, movement and control his game demands. The approach looks practical, but one social video can’t show whether it’s new, how often James uses these drills or what effect they’ll have in competition. The work on display. The outcome still has to come on the court.
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