Here you can find Some great leg workouts for basketball players that will help them gain more muscle and gain better explosive power. This article will go through different exercises with your legs and how they’re essential in basketball. Many people think they don’t need legs, but they wouldn’t be able to jump as high or run as long on the court without them. So here we’ll talk about some of the most vigorous leg workouts for basketball players”. The leg is the king of the basketball court. If your team can control what you can’t control on the ground, they will have a great shot at winning. You know this to be true. But, unfortunately, many players neglect their legs because they feel that they don’t have time to train or practice them enough.
Why Should Basketball Players Exercise Their Legs?
Let’s take a look at why Basketball Players should exercise their legs. Leg workouts for basketball are fundamental, and you should spend at least three days per week working your legs out. I know that this is impossible for most of you, but try to do it if possible. Your quads, hamstrings, and calves may be small muscles, but they are highly active during the game. If they are weaker than they could be, your whole body will be weaker than it could be, which will lead to you being less explosive and slower on the court. The lower body is just as important as the upper body in sports. In any sport, and even just running your daily errands, you are using your legs. They contain large muscles needed to run, jump, and even curl weights at times. The upper body is fantastic, but it won’t help you a lot if they don’t work out their legs as much in comparison.
Basketball Players: The Top 10 Exercises & How To Do It
While this may be true for a few players, it won’t hold for the rest. So if you have time to train, make sure you do at least some leg exercises to help your game. The legs are the engines of your body, and they propel you down the court. So they need to be solid and robust. You know this to be true. You have felt the fatigue in your legs and your heart. You have felt your leg’s power and their strength on the court. But here is some bad news: if you don’t take time to train your legs, you will never reach your potential. So here are some great workouts to stay solid and robust while playing basketball.
1. Lunging to the Side
The lunge to the side is something you can do during your warm-up. It will help loosen up your muscles and prepare you for the game. How it’s done:
- Get set in front of a bench and hold the weight.
- Take one leg out in front of you and step out at an angle with your other foot to be about 45 degrees from the ground.
- Ensure that your knee does not touch the ground when you are still standing up with no weight on your legs.
That would be called frontal plane hip extension exercise, which isn’t necessary for basketball purposes at all.
Incorporating exercises like side lunges into your leg workouts not only improves your lateral movement on the basketball court but can also help to tone and slim down your thighs. These exercises can be easily modified to fit your fitness level, and you can add weights for an extra challenge.
2. The Bridge between the Glutes
The bridge between the glutes is a great exercise to help you explosively on the court. It will help you jump higher and run faster, which will help you with your agility. If you don’t already know, agility is significant in basketball, especially as a point guard or center because they must keep themselves out of the way of other players while finding the best way to their target.
How it’s done: Lie down on your back and stretch out your legs. Next, bend one knee while bringing it across your body towards the ground on that side of your body. Doing this should cause your hips to rise off the floor in a bridge position. Hold this for about 5 seconds before lowering it back down and repeating on the other side.
3. Leg Curl with a Physioball
You will also do this exercise with a physioball. This is very simple: grab either a car or a dumbbell and start to curl it up. It would be best if you got that “pump and heat” feeling, which is excellent for your legs in the game of basketball. How it’s done:
- Grab the physioball by the sides with your hands, then put the ball between your legs and squat down so that your torso is parallel with the ground, not sitting back.
- Slowly extend your legs up towards the ceiling and squeeze as you do so.
- Keep your knees behind you as you go, each time going slightly higher than before until you reach ten reps or more on each side.
4. Tied to the Side
The lateral bound is one of the best leg workouts for basketball players. This is one of the exercises that has helped me so much. If you are short, it will help you to develop lower body power and quickness to get around people as a guard. As a big guy with long legs, it will help you run faster and jump higher and develop strength in your legs, which are very important for charging into the paint.
How it’s done: Place a two by two-foot wide plyometric box on either side of where you’re standing and step onto them (you may want to use a box with deeper sides in case your knees knock on the sides when jumping).
5. Deadlifting
Many people will say never to deadlift because it can hurt your back. But, if done right, you can work your lower body and back muscles like no other exercise.
How it’s done: First, you need to squat down with your hands in front of you and grab the barbell (you should keep them anywhere from shoulder width to hip-width apart depending on how close you are to the bar). You will then lift the weight up off the ground by extending your legs out and bringing yourself up as well. Keep your back straight and make sure that you have a good grip on the weight before doing this exercise for beginners.
For basketball players, deadlifting is a great way to build lower body strength and power. According to PR standards, lifters should aim to lift their body weight or more when deadlifting. Incorporating this exercise along with other leg workouts such as squats and lunges can improve overall performance on the court.
6. Pressing Dumbbells Alternately
Pressing Dumbbells Alternately does precisely what it says. You can hold two dumbbells in each hand, or you can hold one in one hand and use an empty barbell or the weight of a bench to help you lift this weight up to your shoulders.
How it’s done: Grab the dumbbells and hold them up to your sides with your arms bent like a lunge position and your knees bent as well. You will then push the weights above you until they are at eye level, then you lower them back down again. You only take them up to where you can, not higher unless you have problems with your shoulders. It’s best to do this exercise as fast as possible and high repetition-wise (at least ten reps total)
7. Squatting with a Glass
The squat is a great leg exercise for basketball players. It will help you do all of the movements needed in the game of basketball by helping to develop your quads, glutes, calves, hamstrings, and back muscles.
How it’s done: Grab a kettlebell or dumbbell by its handle (the one used for kettlebells is called a goblet). Keep your chest up, and don’t lean forward as you squat down. Squat until your hips are at about 90 degrees (or further if you’re advanced) before going back up. Make sure that you don’t let the weight drop as you go down or come up.
To improve your squatting technique, try the BMR calculator, which helps you understand your basal metabolic rate and how many calories you need to consume per day to maintain your weight. Maintaining a healthy weight can improve your form and reduce the risk of injury while performing squatting exercises.
8. Pull up
The pull-up is an excellent exercise for building back muscles that are important in every sport, especially basketball. Basketball players need a strong back because they have to quickly jump and grab onto things. They also need good upper body strength to make shots from up close or further away.
How it’s done: Use a bar with a good grip and hang from it. Pull yourself up to the bar, then go back down again. You can also do this by using different grip positions, such as using an overhand or underhanded grip.
9. Jumping Hop with Only One Leg
Jumping Hop with Only One Leg works on your acceleration, or how fast you can get up to top speed. This is very important for every player because you need to be able to accelerate quickly to be able to block out your rivals from getting the rebound.
How it’s done: Put a barbell plate or any other solid object in front of you. It should be about 12–24 inches tall, depending on how advanced an athlete you are. Tiptoe over it and then jump down over the other side with only one foot touching the ground (like a hop over a fence). After doing so, use only that same leg to tiptoe back over the hurdle and back again with two feet on the ground.
10. To Push, Squat with the Medicine Ball
This is an excellent exercise for building strength in your glutes and quads because it is a lot like a regular squat, only that you alternate: going down low, then up high. The medicine ball will help you develop power in these muscles, which are essential because they are used to push you up in the air when doing rebounds or blocking out an opponent.
How it’s done: Start with your knees bent at about 90 degrees (or even less, depending on how much flexibility you have). Next, hold the medicine ball by the sides and then move it underneath your butt and let it sit on your back.
5 Benefits From Do Leg Workouts
As basketball players, we get a lot of static contractions in our legs during our game. This is because we have to run and jump around in so many different directions during the game that we need to work out those lower body and core muscles as often as possible. Keeping these muscles strong helps us to avoid injuries overall. Great lower body workouts will also help improve balance and stability, which will improve your athletic performance on the court because you will be able to shoot, rebound, block out opponents, and move side-to-side easier.
- It burns calories throughout the day.
From doing any exercise, your heart rate will increase throughout the day depending on how you’re sweating (there’s a more considerable amount of blood going to your muscles when you move around). Doing these exercises will help you burn more calories during the daytime because of how the body works.
- Your muscles won’t get so tired out because they don’t have enough time to repair themselves.
By doing these workouts daily, your muscles won’t feel tired as much because they’ll be used constantly. Also, both muscles and tendons will be kept strong, which is essential for anyone who wants to stay healthy in general.
- Muscles will be forced to work harder.
When you do a leg workout, your body will be forced to work harder instead of doing it just once a week or every few days. This is why these workouts are so great.
- It will help you to gain muscle.
People who do only one or two workouts per week may want to try doing a leg workout to help them add more muscle to their bodies. This is especially good for high school students who are still growing and teenagers who want to look like they’re grown up earlier.
- Better balance
Because activities that use the legs can make you have an increase in your heart rate, you lose your balance if you don’t have any form of core training, which helps with stability.
Incorporating walking in place into your leg workouts can help to improve your cardiovascular health, as well as strengthen your legs. By doing this exercise on a regular basis, you can also burn calories and reduce your risk of heart disease. Make sure you take advantage of this easy and accessible way to incorporate cardio into your leg workout routine.
In Conclusion
There are so many benefits to doing NBA workouts that it is hard to count them all. These exercises will help you become a better basketball player no matter what position you play. If it just helps you become a better basketball player, that’s great, but if it’s because they give you more strength and flexibility, that’s even better! Doing these exercises will also help you avoid injuries caused by the overuse of your muscles. When the body is used too much, it can cause torn ligaments in the knee and other severe issues like meniscuses being stretched out, which can cause pain.
FAQ
How Do You Strengthen Your Legs for Basketball?
To strengthen your legs, you should do exercises like squats and lunges. Squats are good because they make your legs strong and help you jump higher. Lunges are good because they will strengthen the muscles in your quads and hamstrings, making you quicker on the court.
Does Basketball Workout Your Legs?
You’ll do plenty of running when you play basketball, which helps you strengthen a variety of lower-body muscles. … Your quads extend your knees while the hamstrings, gastrocnemius, and several smaller muscles work to flex your knees as you dash up and down the court.
If you’re a basketball player wondering if the sport is giving your legs a proper workout, check out these 10 simple exercises to help you jump higher. Strengthening your legs is essential in improving your jumping ability as well as your overall performance on the court. Don’t underestimate the importance of leg workouts in basketball!
Is It Common for NBA Players to Shave Their Legs?
Some NBA players have full-grown beards, but they have bush-free armpits and legs. For sanitary reasons, many basketball players shave their armpits and legs. Basketball, like many other sports, has players that sweat excessively while playing.