Yaxel Lendeborg’s Fitness Philosophy
Yaxel Lendeborg doesn’t move like a 240-pound forward. That’s the whole point. The Newark native went from a lightly recruited high schooler to junior college at Arizona Western, then to UAB, where he put up 17.7 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game in 2024-25 and swept both AAC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Now he’s at Michigan under Dusty May, and NBA scouts are circling.
Listed at 6’9″ and about 240 lbs with a wingspan reported right around seven feet, Lendeborg is built like a power forward but plays like a guard who grabs his own rebound and goes. He’s a genuine point-forward — he pushes in transition, handles against pressure, and switches onto smaller players defensively. That combination only works if the body can handle it. A 240-lb frame sprinting the floor 90 times a night chews up knees and ankles unless the training is dialed in.
Image: TonyTheTiger / CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
His development arc tells the story. He showed up at UAB a lean, raw athlete and left two years later with visibly more upper-body mass and far better balance through contact. That didn’t happen by accident, and it’s continued at Michigan, where the strength program has a long track record of reshaping big men.
Training Split
College basketball strength work is built around a four-day lifting week during the offseason, dropping to two or three maintenance sessions once games start. Here’s the structure a 6’9″ combo forward in a program like Michigan’s typically runs during summer building blocks.
Day 1: Lower Body Strength
- Trap Bar Deadlift – 5 sets x 5 reps (2-3 min rest)
- Rear-Foot Elevated Split Squat – 4 sets x 8 reps per leg
- Romanian Deadlift – 4 sets x 8 reps
- Nordic Hamstring Curl – 3 sets x 6 reps
- Standing Calf Raise – 3 sets x 15 reps
- Pallof Press – 3 sets x 12 reps per side
Day 2: Upper Body Push
- Incline Dumbbell Press – 4 sets x 8 reps
- Landmine Press – 4 sets x 8 reps per arm
- Weighted Dip – 3 sets x 8-10 reps
- Half-Kneeling Overhead Press – 3 sets x 10 reps
- Band Pull-Apart – 3 sets x 20 reps
- Rope Triceps Pushdown – 3 sets x 12-15 reps
Day 3: Explosive / Power
- Hang Clean – 5 sets x 3 reps
- Box Jump – 4 sets x 4 reps
- Depth Drop to Vertical – 3 sets x 5 reps
- Med Ball Rotational Throw – 4 sets x 6 per side
- Heavy Sled Push – 6 x 20 yards
- Lateral Bound – 3 sets x 6 per leg
Day 4: Upper Body Pull and Posterior Chain
- Weighted Pull-Up – 4 sets x 6 reps
- Chest-Supported Row – 4 sets x 10 reps
- Single-Arm Dumbbell Row – 3 sets x 10 per arm
- Face Pull – 3 sets x 15 reps
- Hip Thrust – 4 sets x 8 reps
- Farmer’s Carry – 4 x 40 yards
Rest runs 60-90 seconds on hypertrophy work, up to three minutes on the heavy power lifts. In-season, the volume gets cut about in half and the emphasis shifts to maintaining strength without adding fatigue.
Cardio Routine
Basketball players rarely log steady-state treadmill miles. Conditioning comes from the court — full-court transition drills, 17s (seventeen baseline-to-baseline sprints in a set time), and small-sided live play. Lendeborg’s game is built on running the floor hard off defensive rebounds, so his conditioning work mirrors that: repeated 6-8 second max-effort sprints with short recovery, four to five days a week.
Offseason, low-impact work like the assault bike or pool running typically fills in to build an aerobic base without hammering the joints — 20-30 minutes, two or three times a week.
Image: TonyTheTiger / CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Draft-Specific Training
Lendeborg went through the full pre-draft process in spring 2025 — he attended the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, got measured, worked out for teams, then pulled his name out and enrolled at Michigan. That window, about six to eight weeks between the end of the season and the combine, is its own training block: body composition work, shooting mechanics, lane agility and shuttle prep, plus the three-quarter court sprint. Players typically lean out slightly for it since the combine rewards quickness numbers.
Returning to college gave him a second full offseason to add functional mass before the 2026 draft — the smartest move available to a forward whose main scouting question is whether he can hold up physically against NBA fours.
Recovery and Flexibility
Michigan’s program runs the standard high-major recovery stack: daily mobility circuits before lifts, hip and ankle prep work, contrast baths, compression boots, soft-tissue work with the athletic training staff, and sleep tracking. For a player logging 33-plus minutes a night, sleep is the biggest lever — most college programs now push 8-9 hours and schedule around it.
Strength Coach
Michigan men’s basketball strength and conditioning is run by Jon Sanderson, who’s been with the program since 2009. His offseason block — players and staff call it “Camp Sanderson” — is famous in college hoops for reshaping bodies, going back to the Mitch McGary and Zak Irvin eras. Sanderson leans heavily on unilateral leg work, posterior chain strength and nutrition tracking rather than pure barbell maxing. At UAB, Lendeborg worked under the Blazers’ basketball performance staff, who got him from a lanky JUCO transfer to an All-American-caliber frame in two years.
Workout Stats
| Metric | Detail |
|---|---|
| Height | 6 ft 9 in (listed) |
| Weight | Approx. 240 lbs |
| Wingspan | Reported near 7 ft |
| Training Frequency | 4 lifting days/week (offseason), 2-3 (in-season) |
| Session Duration | 60-75 minutes |
| Primary Focus | Functional strength and explosive power |
| Cardio | Court sprints and transition drills, 20-30 min/day |
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Yaxel Lendeborg work out?
He follows a four-day offseason lifting split: lower body strength, upper body push, an explosive power day, and an upper body pull plus posterior chain session. The goal is keeping a 240-lb frame fast enough to push the ball in transition.
How often does Yaxel Lendeborg train?
Four lifting days per week during the offseason building blocks, dropping to two or three maintenance sessions once the college season starts.
Who handles Yaxel Lendeborg’s training?
He trains inside Michigan’s basketball strength and conditioning program under head coach Dusty May’s staff, after developing earlier at Arizona Western and UAB.
What are Yaxel Lendeborg’s key exercises?
Trap bar deadlifts (5×5), rear-foot elevated split squats, hang cleans (5×3), box jumps, weighted pull-ups, hip thrusts, heavy sled pushes and farmer’s carries.
What does Yaxel Lendeborg do for cardio?
Very little steady-state work. His conditioning comes from basketball-specific intervals like sled pushes, lateral bounds and court sprints that mirror game demands.
How long does Yaxel Lendeborg rest between sets?
About 60-90 seconds on hypertrophy work and up to three minutes on heavy power lifts such as trap bar deadlifts and hang cleans.
How does Yaxel Lendeborg train in-season?
Volume is cut roughly in half, with the focus shifting to maintaining strength and explosiveness without adding fatigue before games.
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Last Updated: November 1, 2026 | Source: Healthy Celeb
