Basketball requires lower- and upper-body strength to run, jump, pass, shoot and rebound during highly physical full-length games. You can use weights to build muscle and train muscular endurance using a variety of exercise and workout routines. Vary your workouts and equipment to maximize your athletic power and performance for basketball.
Barbell Exercises
Barbells help you to build muscle by allowing you to lift heavy weights which stress your muscles, resulting in their growing larger during the recovery and repair process that follows. You can work on your lower body using the classic deadlift, which has you pick a barbell off the floor using your quadriceps, buttocks, hamstrings and calves. Standing or sitting squats help you to build muscle and train explosive and reactive power, depending on which you use. Use box squats to train explosive power and reactive or jump squats to train plyometric strength. Use a bench press to work your chest. Perform curls to work your biceps, making sure you lower the bar using your muscles, rather than simply letting it drop.
Dumbbell Exercises
Using dumbbells, you can improve muscular endurance using circuit training. Perform a circuit of exercises such as biceps curls, triceps extensions, chest presses, flyes, arm raises, squats, lunges and calf raises using 30 to 50 percent of your maximum weight. Perform 10 to 12 repetitions of one exercise, take a one-minute break, then begin the next set of exercises. Keep the circuit going for 30 minutes to keep your metabolism high and challenge your cardiovascular fitness. When performing arm exercises with dumbbells, work one arm while you hold a dumbbell steady in the other hand to create isometric muscle contractions for added benefit.
Weight Machines
If you want to target a particular muscle or group of muscles, universal weight machines, home gyms and exercise-specific machines can help you achieve your goals. Use a pec deck to work your chest. Work your quads using a leg press machine. Work the upper back of your legs using a hamstring curl machine. Universal machines frequently offer lat pulldowns, which you can do sitting, standing or kneeling to strengthen your back muscles. Rowing builds upper body muscles and leg strength, depending on the machine, and lets you train your cardio system at the same time. You can work your obliques and other core muscles using ab machines.
References
- GuidetoCoachingBasketball.com : Physical Training on the Off-Season for the Basketball Player
- Basketball-Plays-and-Tips.com : Increase Your Over-All Stamina With These Proven Basketball Conditioning Drills
- IronWorkout.com: Beginners Guide To Gym Equipment
- FullFitness: Complete Body Workout Program
- Brian Mac Sports Coach: Circuit Training Exercises
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