The Importance of Strength Training for Basketball (Plus 5 Killer Exercises)
Everybody who plays basketball knows how important a healthy body is to success. We’ve all found ourselves running up and down the court, our legs and arms feeling weak while we gasp for air.
A lot of people don’t take strength training for basketball as seriously as they should. In reality, strength training is just as important as fundamentals. It can help with every basketball skill from shooting to jumping.
Here are a few tips that can help you improve your strength and dominate on the court.
Why You Need Strength Training For Basketball
A lot of people wonder why they need strength training for basketball. To do that, they need to understand exactly what physical strength is.
Simply put, physical strength is the ability to apply a large amount of force to an object and keep it there. If you want to be a good basketball player, this means your muscles need to be able to withstand intense strain and effort on the court and in the gym.
There are two muscles that are more important than any in the game of basketball: your heart and your lungs. Strength training improves the overall endurance of these vital organs along with specific groups, making you a force on the court.
On top of that, strength and explosive energy are essential skills to the game of basketball. You need to be able to do quick jumps, long throws, and quick sprints to succeed at this sport. Regular strength training is essential to have these abilities, and we can guarantee that the competition is doing everything they can to have that power for themselves.
Finally, strength training is a vital part of building a healthy and functioning body. Every athlete needs to be able to do well on the court or field, and if you hit the gym you’ll find that strength training for basketball is also strength training for life.
Don’t just go to the gym and blindly lift weights. Instead, try these five exercises to perfect your abilities for basketball.
Goblet Squat With Rotation
Goblet squats have been called the holy grail of exercises. There is nothing better for building good form and encouraging your body to engage in serious muscle and endurance-building.
But even the best exercises leave room for improvement. In the case of goblet squats, adding a simple rotation to the exercise can be perfect for your fitness plan.
Men’s Health recommends that you do a regular goblet squat, followed by an abdominal twist. This allows you to build leg and core strength while removing body fat.
Burpees
Basketball is all about having the energy to go big. If you want to engage in strength training for basketball, it’s 100% necessary to build that explosive power. There is no better move for this than the burpee.
Burpees can be considered an all-in-one exercise. There are a few steps, done in quick succession to build the perfect strength training. This makes them perfect for an HIIT work out.
A burpee starts with a squat. Then, you should quickly kick your legs back and do a push-up. Return to the squat position and jump to complete the rep.
Burpees are an exercise that has become associated with difficulty. But they’re some of the best moves out there when it comes to strength training for basketball.
Hammer Curls
While explosive energy is an important part of prepping for court time, arm strength is really the bread-and-butter of any basketball workout. It can help you throw accurate, far shots that can win games and change your career.
Because of this, you need to make hammer curls an essential part of strength training for basketball. Combined with other arm strength exercises, they can give your arms the individual focus they need to build a stronger you for the court.
Make sure you maintain proper form with both arms while you do hammer curls. Otherwise, you can end up with uneven arm strength that will leave your shots week and unbalanced.
Mountain Climbers
Mountain climbers are some of the best exercises for building explosive energy. Along with burpees, they perform this task well: but don’t let one exercise take the place of the other!
Mountain climbers are a great way to build leg and core strength while continuing to build energy for explosive bursts. This makes them perfect strength training for basketball players who want to build the perfect jump shot.
The best way to do these is as part of an HIIT work out. If you mix these with vigorous jumping jacks, push-ups, core exercises, and calisthenics, you’ll find yourself ready for action and improvement.
Barbell Shrug
People love to hit the gym to do strength training for basketball. But they don’t remember every part of the body. The strength of your shoulders is just as important as any other part of your body.
A barbell shrug is one of the best ways to build collar strength. This is what you need to sink a shot or muscle past a seven-foot-tall defender. Start with a relatively easy amount of weight: going too far and straining your shoulders can result in injuries.
Any time you do strength training, particularly involving weights, you should make sure you have a spotter.
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