To improve your basketball performance, you must spend hours practicing individual drills and with your team. One aspect which is often overlooked, however, is strength training. Strength is crucial for optimizing your performance, because being stronger can help you to run faster, jump higher and score more points. A workout based around multi-joint free-weight and body-weight exercises, done twice per week alongside your basketball training, can drastically improve your strength levels.
Jumps
Start your workout with a jump variation, such as box jumps, vertical jumps, broad jumps or depth jumps. Your jump height is extremely important in basketball, so you should work on it in training to help improve it. According to strength coach Chad Smith, starting your workout with a jumping movement can also increase your strength levels. Jumping helps to activate your central nervous system and fast-twitch muscles fibers, which then aids you in lifting more weight during the session. Do five sets of three jumps each, using just your body weight, focusing on generating as much speed and power as possible.
Squats
Squats work your quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals, lower back, calves and core muscles, and help to develop lower-body strength and power. Perform five sets of five squats each, making sure that you descend until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor, and focus on lifting with speed. Strength coach Art Horne advises that you should do either back squats or front squats in your routine. Front squats encourage you to squat deep, and have a tremendous amount of glute and quadricep activation; back squats help to improve your lower-back strength more. For best results, alternate between squat variations.
Upper Body
A strong upper body can aid you in holding off defenders and help when jostling for position. Perform a set of five chinups immediately followed by 10 pushups. Rest for 30 seconds and repeat this sequence 10 times. As soon as this becomes too easy, either increase the number of repetitions or make the exercises harder by wearing a weighted vest.
Core Training
Your core muscles play an important role in keeping your balance --- and a stronger core means that you'll be more competitive in the key. Spend 10 minutes at the end of your workout session on core exercises. Choose two exercises --- one where your core is working to create movement, such as knee raises or reverse crunches, and one where your core is stabilizing, like Pallof presses or planks. Aim to increase your performance in the exercises every time you do them, and rotate your exercises every few weeks for variety.
Member Comments