Basketball is a complex game with a variety of different skills that players must master. To improve on deficient skills, basketball players can perform training exercises designed to improve speed, agility, quickness, explosiveness, power, endurance and stamina. Incorporating sport-specific basketball training exercises can drastically improve performance on the court.
Squats
The squat is a functional exercise that trains the muscles in the lower body. The squat movement resembles the movement executed during jumps for rebounds or when making shots. To perform a correct squat, start with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart with your toes pointed at a 45-degree angle. Move your hips back and down as if you are sitting in a chair while keeping your back arched and chest up. Lower your hips until they are level with the knees and stand up to return to the starting position. Perform three sets of 10 repetitions.
Push-ups
Push-ups are another functional sport-specific exercise that trains a movement regularly seen in a basketball game. Increasing upper body strength with push-ups can improve passing and shooting ability. Start with your hands and feet on the ground, lower your chest to the ground and push straight up while keeping your body as straight as possible. Perform three sets of 10 repetitions.
Lateral Line Hops
Agility and quickness are skills that are used to play defense or run down loose balls. Lateral line hops train ground reaction and footwork to improve agility and quickness. Stand next to any line on the basketball court and hop horizontally over the line as fast as possible for 20 seconds. Take a 10-second rest and repeat for another 20 seconds. Complete a total of eight rounds following 20 seconds on and 10 seconds off.
Sit-ups
Sit-ups can improve abdominal strength. Basketball players use their abdominals for core stability while running and playing defense. Start by lying on the ground with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Crunch your torso up towards your knees as far as you can go, and lower yourself back down to the starting position. Complete three to four sets of 15 to 20 repetitions of sit-ups during practice.
Box Jumps
Jumping exercises can improve rebounding and jump shots. Set a box about 20 inches off the floor and stand next to the box. Jump explosively and land on top of the box. Either step down or jump down to the starting position, and repeat. Completing three sets of 10 to 15 box jumps at least three days per week can increase your vertical jump.
Lunges
Lunges can increase running speed, which can in turn increase the effectiveness of fast break situations by allowing you to beat your opponent down the court. Start at one end of the court and perform walking lunges the length of the court to the opposite baseline. Turn around and lunge back to the starting point.
Shuttle Run
A basketball game is full of accelerations and decelerations as the players change directions. The shuttle run is designed to improve your defensive ability by teaching you to change directions quickly and powerfully. Start on a baseline and run to the closest free throw line, touch the line and change directions, then run back to the baseline. Touch the baseline, change directions and run to half court. Upon reaching half court, touch the line and run back to the baseline. Change directions at the baseline and run to the opposite free throw line. Touch the line, return to the baseline, touch the line and run to the opposite baseline. Touch that line and return to the starting point.
Jump Rope
Jumping rope can improve stamina, endurance, jumping ability and power. Increasing your vertical jump can improve your jump shot and rebounding ability. Perform a maximum number of repetitions in 30 seconds followed by 30 seconds of rest. Repeat for a total of five rounds.
Pull-ups
Pull-ups are a classic upper-body exercise that is sport-specific to basketball. They train nearly every muscle in the upper-body, and can improve the ability to secure rebounds or loose balls. Perform three sets of 10 repetitions each.
Deadlift
Deadlifts can increase lower-body strength that will result in stronger box-outs to obtain more rebounds. They can also increase your vertical jump by training the major muscles involved in jumping. Set the deadlift bar at a weight that is challenging for five repetitions and perform a total of five sets.
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