Strength Training for Basketball – What Type of Training is Needed?

All solid basketball training programs will include exercises for improving your vertical leaping strength. Even if your present jumping height is lacking, you certainly can build-up your strength for the particular muscle groups involved. Increasing your vertical jumping ability even slightly can make a big difference in a game. The really good news is there are quite a few jumping drills you can use to increase your leaping ability. You can use strength training exercises with weight for your legs. There’s an old drill that some call, box jumps, and the reason people still use them is because they work well. It is subtle, but it works, and all you do is jump up onto a sturdy box. The only way you can actually get better (jump higher) is by training hard.

When you train for basketball, you have to do a certain amount of strength training. You should train all your muscle groups, as basketball is a game where you use both your lower and upper body. Your arms as well as your legs have to be ready for all kinds of rapid and repetitive movements in this sport. Vertical jumping requires you to have strong leg muscles. In the weight room, you should do several exercises for your leg muscles, including lunges and squats. Aside from your other training, it’s a good idea to hit the gym a few times per week for all around strength training. It will not only give you an edge on the court, it makes injuries less likely. Also, see our last blog post on ‘Proper Shoe Gear To Prevent Injuries’, this is an awesome article on Shoe Gear and how often you really need to change your athletic shoes and why!

You will need to train so you have good basketball skills, and then you need to train so your body can withstand the physical demand placed on it. Practicing ball handling exercises regularly is a good way to get more comfortable and agile when it comes to handling the basketball. Train with handling the ball with “go around the world” drills, and that is simply moving the ball around your body. Yet another is moving the ball through your legs in a figure eight pattern. These are things you can practice at home with a ball, and if you work at them you’ll see that they do help.

Springbak understands you want to be a better player, but the only path to real improvement is serious basketball training. There is so much that is important including conditioning, power, coordination, and basic skills. The most important thing to remember is to Move Forward With Positive Action.
In order to make improvements in your game, you know that the right basketball training regimen is critical. There are few sports where you need to maintain such intense levels of energy for so long. If you apply the following training techniques in our prior basketball training posts, your well on your way to the scholarship you all deserve.

We have prior blogs on shooting skills, jump shot off the dribble, and shooting the 3 – Be sure to check them out!

Have fun and Rule The Net!

Article by William Crow – Former Professional Basketball Player CEO/Chairman Springbak Inc.

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