Strength Training For Women's Basketball

Women's basketball has come a long way since the days when the nine players were not allowed out of their zones and were limited to three dribbles. Today, female athletes almost need to match male athletes in strength, power, endurance and speed. Conditioning programs that combine strength, endurance and flexibility training enhance sport-specific skills such as shooting, rebounding, passing and dribbling for improved athletic performance.

Training Phases

Training programs are classified as off-season, preseason and in-season. During the off-season, exercises using higher weights with lower repetitions increase muscular strength. Examples include sets of six to 10 repetitions, working to muscle failure. During the preseason, after a strength base has been established, training combining strength and speed enhances explosive power. During the season, exercises using lower weights with up to 20 repetitions maintains muscular strength and increases muscular endurance.
Proper form is crucial for strength and endurance gains. Power training should not be added until a strength base has been established. Flexibility training helps muscle fibers lengthen and grow, and prevents injuries.

Upper Body Exercises

Shooting, passing and dribbling are skills that use upper body muscles in your chest, shoulders and arms. Bench press exercises using barbells and dumbbells strengthen your chest and triceps. Overhead barbell and dumbbell presses work your shoulders and triceps, while pushdowns using overhead pulleys target your triceps. Medicine ball passes require your muscles to generate the most amount of force in the shortest amount of time for improved explosive power.

Lower-Body Exercises

Lower-body muscles are used in shooting, rebounding and maintaining a defensive stance. Compound exercises such as squats and lunges target quadriceps, the front of your thighs and your buttocks. Perform leg extensions to work your quadriceps and leg curls to work your hamstrings, the back of your thighs. Calf raises using dumbbells strengthen your calves for improved jump heights. Training with up to 25 reps can improve your muscular endurance, and jump squats can add explosive movements to your workouts.

Core Training

The core muscles -- your abdomen and lower back muscles -- are utilized with every movement. Power generated from your legs is transferred to your upper body through your core muscles. A weak core will diminish your abilities as a basketball player. Traditional crunches target your abdominal muscles while crunch twists work your side oblique muscles. Bent knee raises work your lower abdominal muscles. Do medicine ball twists to add a power component to your core workouts.