BODYWEIGHT TRAINING — BASKETBALL
More than a few pushups for Dwight
Bodyweight Training — Basketball
Basketball is a physical sport given there is lots of running and pushing. This requires a lot of training. Strength, speed, & endurance are basic requirements. A lot of the best basketball players in history are the ones that can outmuscle their opponents, outrun the competition, and simply out-duel their foes. If you want to be better than your opponents, you’re going to need to be stronger, faster, and last longer than your rivals. Here we will tackle weight training for basketball to help you achieve your peak. Bodyweight training will get you there — No weights required.
Basketball Endurance
Endurance is one of the most important traits of the best basketball players. Bodyweight training is a great way to increase endurance. Players that master this are the ones who can deliver results even when everyone out there on the floor is exhausted. Reggie Miller, a Pacers legend, used to force opposing coaches into using their entire roster just to guard him. He would run circles around the enemy until their legs give up chasing him. That’s when he drops an impossible 3-pointer. His opponents would be catching their breath while he was out there looking like he’s just enjoying a walk in the park. That’s how well conditioned he was and that’s what made him one of the best athletes to ever grace the hardwood floor.
How did he do it? Well, he did a whole lot of running. However, endurance training for marathoners and basketball athletes work quite differently. Jogging for hours may get you prepared for the Iron Man but it’s not very basketball specific. Basketball-specific endurance requires stop and go movements and change of direction. Below are a couple of bodyweight training drills that will help you beat your opponents:
• Basketball Suicides: start by dividing the court into 4 more or less equal parts using cones like how you would fold a paper lengthwise 2x to create 4 partitions. Next is the fun part. Starting from the very bottom, run to the first cone and touch it then go back to the starting line. When you’re back, run to the 2nd cone and go back again. The same applies to the 3rd and 4th cone where every cone has an increasing distance from the starting point. Repeat to the point of exhaustion. This will train your legs to alternately burst and decelerate, effectively training you to change speeds and catch your enemy by surprise.
• Jump and slide Drill: while suicides train your bursts, it doesn’t train your change of direction which is also important for basketball. This is a drill developed by German athletes and to be honest, it is bloody brutal. First you start at the very center of the court facing the basketball ring. Next, you’re going to jump forward 2 times. Then, you take a defensive stance and take 2 steps to your right, 4 steps to your left, then 2 steps right again. You should be back at the center. Repeat until you reach the baseline. If you still have more fight in you, push yourself harder by making it back to center court. If that doesn’t tire you out, make your way to the opposite ring and repeat. This will train your change of direction which will help you on both offense and defense.
Basketball Speed
Bodyweight training for Speed is very important in basketball. Your offense won’t be very effective if you can’t position yourself faster than the defense can react. You also won’t be able to stop your opponents from scoring if you can’t catch them. This year, Russel Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder is the league’s leader in triple doubles. On the open court, he is a blur. Half court, he follows the pattern of lightning. He goes left then right, zigging and zagging, and blows by everyone for the dunk.
What makes him one of the best players in the game today is undoubtedly his unmatched speed. In basketball, footwork and quickness are vital. There are also a number of different tools you can use to train such as ladders and cones. Below are a few examples of how you can train to be quick on your feet and help you leave your opponents in the dust:
CONE DRILLS
Cone drills are amazingly versatile. You can literally place cones at random places, run to them, and you can call that a drill. Below are a couple of the most famous cone drills used by athletes:
• Run-Shuffle-Run: This is a popular drill used in sports like football and basketball that requires you to shift from sprinting to lateral movement. First, divide the court into four equal parts like you would in suicides. Next, start sprinting towards the first cone. When you’re there, switch to a defensive stance and move to the 2nd cone leading with your left foot. At the 2nd cone, sprint to the 3rd cone then switch back to a defensive stance and move to the 4th cone leading with your right foot. Time this and do it as fast as you can. The next time you do this, your target should be to complete the exercise in lesser time than you did before.
• 123 back: this is an agility cone drill designed to train you to react quicker. Because after all, quick feet are no good if you can’t think fast. For this exercise, you’ll need to have a training partner. Set up 3 cones that are 5 yards apart from each other. Set up another cone 3 yards directly behind the center cone and this will be your starting point. Have your partner throw a tennis ball at random towards any of the 3 front cones. Your job is to catch the ball, pass it back to your partner, and then return to your starting spot. This should train you to react to your teammates movements as fast as you possibly can.
LADDER DRILLS
One of the classics of bodyweight training. The main focus on ladder training is quickness and footwork but those aren’t the only things that it practices. It also trains balance, body control, and creates multiple kinetic chains in your body. Kinetic chains are a combination of single motions to execute a bigger movement. For example, when running, multiple muscles need to move in sequence to make a single stride. Combined with dribble drills, this is a very effective way of improving your speed with and without a basketball. Check out a few popular drills below:
• Thrust: with this drill, only one foot will be inside the ladder. You either step with your right or left foot. The other foot stays outside the ladder for balance purposes. Notice how when you’re walking normally, if the left foot is in front, your right arm is swaying back? This simple drill requires you to do just that only more explosively. Start by putting one foot inside the ladder. Then, as you sway your arms back, step forward. Every step you make, your knees should be higher than your hip. Do this as fast as you can and on both legs.
• Dribble and ladder combo: With this, you not only improve your speed, you develop your feel for the ball as well. With a wide stance, position your feet outside of the ladder. Take one dribble with your right hand then crossover to the left while moving one step forward. Make sure that you dribble inside the ladder. This effectively mimics in-game one-dribble crossovers while training you to have control of the ball. Do this as fast as you can. You can also change dribbles from crossovers to other more complicated tricks such behind-the-backs or between-the-legs or even spin moves. As with any other speed drills, time yourself and aim to do better each time.
Basketball Strength
Bodyweight training for Strength in basketball is also one important aspect of training. The Laker Legend, Shaquille O’Neal made his dollars by being dubbed as the most dominant big man to ever play the game. True enough, Shaq was a tank. Weight Training must have been part of that. He has been known to break basketball rings multiple times over his career because his arms were just too powerful. No one could move him on the post as well because his legs were so strong, they were like roots that planted him on the ground.
Basketball strength, however, isn’t just about carrying the heaviest weight. It’s about power. Michael Jordan wasn’t the “strongest” guy out there but those legs of his generated so much power that when he jumped, he would look like he’s walking on air.
In bodyweight training to increase power, athletes use plyometrics (Wiki Link). It’s a workout that forces you to use as much of your strength in as little time as possible. The greater the force generated in the least amount of time — that’s power. Check out some of the most simple yet challenging plyometric exercises below:
• Clap push-ups: The name should already pretty much explain the exercise. Go to a push-up position. Lower your body slowly. When your body nearly hits the floor, push as hard as you can that your hands leave the floor. While your hands are in the air, perform a clap and then back to the push-up position as quickly as possible. Make this even harder by adding more claps in between repetitions. By doing more claps, you force your arms to push harder so you can be in the air longer.
• Alternating lunge jumps: Take a big step forward with your right foot. Lower your body, allowing both knees to bend. Make sure your right knee isn’t in front of your toes. With your right leg, push as hard as you can and lunge yourself upwards. While on the air, swing your right leg back and your left leg forward. When you land, your stance should now be the opposite with your left foot forward and right foot back. Repeat the exercise with your left leg. This trains your legs individually to generate as much power as possible into a jump.
• Box jumps: This one sounds simple but trust me. It’s exhausting. First, position yourself behind a box or a bench. With your legs spaced at the same width as your shoulders, slowly lower your body to a squat. Make sure your knees don’t get in front of your toes. When your thighs are more or less parallel to the floor, quickly jump up to the bench. Repeat. Progress by jumping up to a bigger box or a higher bench.
Basketball is a sport that’s very taxing to your body but with proper training, you can prepare your body for the demands of the competition. Combine power, agility, and endurance and you have yourself an explosive athlete. Fortunately, these can be trained without fancy equipment. All you need is already right there with you. Give bodyweight training for basketball a try and I promise you, you’ll be readier to play than before you tried it.
