You use muscles throughout your upper and lower muscular system in basketball. Playing basketball requires a muscular system that has enough energy to sustain constant dynamic muscle contractions throughout the game. Your muscular system must have the capacity for intense bursts energy in basketball. Playing basketball also requires having a muscular system that coordinates complex joint movements with precision.
Step 1
Keep your body alignment, stability and control of your limbs while playing basketball by engaging your core muscles. Strengthening your core muscles helps you propel the ball and your body through space more effectively. Well-conditioned core muscles prepare your body for the rigors of playing basketball, and help prevent hip and back injuries. Jumping ability also improves as you develop core strength. Your core includes the multifidus, erector spinae, gluteus and abdominal muscles. Medicine ball throws, abdominal work and balancing on a balance board helps strengthen your core.
Step 2
Stay in motion on your feet throughout the duration of the basketball game with endurance in the lower part of your muscular system. Muscular endurance refers to your ability to perform or sustain muscular contractions against resistance for extended periods of time. Use lower-body endurance in basketball while sprinting across a basketball court multiple times throughout a game. Jumping several times in succession without losing power also requires lower-body endurance. Continuous movement in basketball requires endurance in your quadriceps, hamstrings, calves and gluteal muscle. High-repetition weight-training exercises that target these muscles will increase your lower-body muscular endurance.
Step 3
Sprint across the court, shoot and perform jump shots by exerting intense bursts of energy from the lower part of your muscular system. Shooting the ball with strength in your lower body helps stabilize your shot while propelling the ball faster higher. Shots with a high arc increase the size of the target, and improve your chances of scoring. Heavy weight training using few repetitions with exercises, such as squats, leg curls and calve raises, can strengthen your lower body for basketball.
Step 4
Shoot the ball over an opponent with greater force and power with upper-body strength. Proper body alignment while shooting, and shooting further from the basket also require greater upper-body strength.. Strong shoulder, back and arm muscles enhance your shooting ability. Exercises, such as bench presses, military presses, rows and hammer curls, help develop strong upper-body muscles for basketball. Performing these exercises with a low number of repetitions, and heavy weights, helps increase your upper-body strength.
Things You'll Need
- Basketball
References
- Bodybuilding.com: How Basketball Players and Other Power Athletes Learn to Jump Higher and Run Faster; Alan Stein
- ExRx: Fitness Components
- Sport Fitness Advisor: Strength Training For Basketball
- National Federation of Professional Trainers: Personal Fitness Trainer Manual (PDF)
- Advantage Basketball: Shooting Camp
- Hoop Skills: Strong Leg Muscles
