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How to get stronger legs for basketball
9 Essential Leg Exercises & Workouts for Basketball Players
By Cody Roberts
Home > Player > Athletic Development > 9 Essential Leg Exercises & Workouts for Basketball Players
For basketball players, the legs are undeniably important. They are necessary for jumping, landing, pivoting, running, and lunging for the ball. And if you want to excel in basketball, you can't skip leg day.
Improving your leg strength, mobility, and coordination can help you better maneuver on the court. It allows you to jump higher, change direction quickly, run faster and defend at a high level. It also contributes to a reduced risk of injuries.
Yet, many basketball players have the same problem; they jump into plyometric training without first focusing on the basics.
This isn't to say that plyometrics, agility, power, and speed aren't important. It just means that these movements aren't as efficient without the proper foundation.![]()
Ideally, a solid leg training program should focus on various factors. You want strengthening moves, plyometrics, balance and coordination exercises, and mobility-focused movements. Combined, these factors give way to efficient movements on court and during a game.
So, what exercises should you consider including in your basketball leg strengthening program?
Check out the 9 exercises below that we think are essential exercises for basketball players.
1. Single Leg Romanian Deadlift
The Single Leg Romanian Deadlift exercise contributes to foundational glute strength, balance, hip stability, and coordination. Slow and steady always wins during this exercise. If you lose balance, restart the rep.
2.
Goblet Squat
This is a full-body movement, with a focus on the lower body. Add load with either a dumbbell or kettlebell.
This exercise is also all about control. Go slow on the way down, feel tension in the hips, full foot pressure, and drive up strong. Doing this movement regularly will strengthen not only your lower body, but also will contribute to better balance and stability overall.
3. Glute Bridges
Glutes are vital in core strength and athletic development.
The glutes are part of the power behind your jump. By performing glute bridges, you develop a mind-muscle connection, and lay the foundation for further exercises and movements for complete preparation and injury prevention.
4. Isometric Split Squat
The Isometric Split Squat is a foundational position. It helps build strength and hip stability, establishing the basis for strength in your lower body.
5. Isometric Lateral Squat
This is another isometric exercise that works to build strength by creating tension in a low, long, and extended range of motion.
A position crucial for the movement quality needed to be a lockdown defender..
6. Lunges
Lunges are an active movement that mimic the various actions a player experiences on the court. Further challenging the hip, knee, and ankle to be both mobile and stable, while engaging the muscles of the lower body.
7. Marching Plantar-Dorsiflexion
The Marching Plantar-Dorsiflexion exercise helps develop structural integrity through the foot and ankle. It uses an end-range of motion to engage the stabilizing muscles of the ankle joint.
This is important since a lack of ankle mobility may inhibit your ability to squat or lunge properly. In turn, this can prevent a proper loading phase involved in jumping, as well as cause inefficient movement mechanics.
8. Snap Downs
Snap Downs are all about force management. After youve learned to load slow and controlled with your squat, snap downs are the starting point to establishing proper loading and landing mechanics with increased velocity. This develops the stiffness and coordination needed to generate an explosive and reactive takeoff.
9. Seated Box Jumps
Seated Box Jumps are all about force production.
With the proper coordination and movement efficiency from the lower body exercises above, youre ready for takeoff. Seated box jumps provide an effective way to challenge your explosiveness and improve your jump height.
If you want a step-by-step program to help you improve your basketball game and technique, check out the 12 Week Athletic Development Program for Basketball Players. This program provides a full-body guide on what you need to do to improve your movement efficiency, power, and strength. And this all starts with improving your foundation and doing the right exercises to get you to where you need to be.
NBA legs circuit for explosive power
In the UK we don't usually associate height with sporting heroics. There's no denying Peter Crouch's ability as a dancer but, no matter how many goals he scores, he won't be remembered for his athleticism. In the high-flying NBA, where the average height is 6'7", it's a different story. And nowhere is the speed and explosive power exhibited by skyscraper-sized athletes more apparent than at the Brooklyn Nets.
Bankrolled by hip-hop giant Jay-Z and boasting four players taller than 6'10", the Nets are a prime example of how to combine extreme height and power to devastating effect.
Living legend Kevin Garnett is the Net's biggest star in more ways than one. Standing at 6'11'', he has been dominating the NBA for 20 years. The key to his success? In basketball, friends don't let friends skip legs day. "One of the biggest things we work on with all our players is lower body strength; it’s something that is particularly difficult for very tall athletes because of their biomechanics," says Brooklyn Nets strength and conditioning coach Dr Jeremy Bettle. "If you can focus on building your leg strength then your power, your agility and your speed will all follow."
Try Bettle's circuit below to improve your performance in every sport.
Perform one set of each exercise then go straight on to the next move without resting. Rest for 90 seconds after each circuit and do four circuits in total.
Dumbbell Lateral lunge
5-8 reps each side
Grab a pair of dumbbells and stand with your feet hip-width apart. Take a big step to your right, keeping your foot facing forward. Bend your knee and lower your body until your right thigh is parallel to the ground. Keeping your back straight, reverse the movement back to starting position. Repeat to the other side.
Click here for a video demonstration of the exercise
Speed skater squat
4-6 reps each leg
From a standing position bend one knee, raising the opposite leg behind you. Keeping your back straight, squat down until your non-standing leg almost brushes the ground. Keeping the weight on the heel of your planted foot, push up and return to the starting position.
Click here for a video demonstration of the exercise
Single leg Romanian deadlift
8 reps each leg
Stand with your feet together, holding a dumbbell in one hand.
Engage your core muscles and pull back your shoulder blades. Slowly lift your left leg as you bend forward at the hips, keeping your back straight. Bend your knee until your torso is nearly horizontal. Exhale and slowly bring your torso back to a vertical position.
Click here for a video demonstration of the exercise
Side plank with leg lift
15 lifts each side
Lie on your side with your legs straight; propping yourself up on your elbow and forearm. Tense your core and raise your hips until your body forms a straight line from ankles to shoulders. Keeping your body straight, lift your top leg to create a 45 degree angle before slowly lowering it to the starting position.
Click here for a video demonstration of the exercise
By: Edward Lane; Photography: Getty
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Development of leg speed and speed at home
Hello, dear visitors of the website basketball-training.
org.ua ! The idea of writing this article came to me during one of the last games. It so happened that in it I had to defend against a rather fast opponent, for whom I absolutely did not have time with my feet. The problem was this: in fast breaks I could still catch up with him, but as soon as it came to the classic defensive stance, I was passed around like a standing man! And all this at the expense of an incredibly fast, explosive first step.
That is why, as soon as I got home, I was determined to find a way to develop leg speed, given that I would have to practice at home, where I would have no more than 5 meters of free space and virtually no additional devices. Let's see what came of it.
Developing the foot speed of basketball players
There are at least two ways to start moving faster and, most importantly, sharper: train your legs so that they move faster on the floor, and use “little tricks”, that is, develop the very technique of moving in a defensive stance.
Naturally, not all of us are lovers of easy ways, but often they are the most logical. So I propose to start with the “useful little things” that Rick Torbet talks about in the training video “ Better 1 on 1 Defense ". By the way, if you haven’t watched it yet, I highly recommend doing it: the 8-part personal protection video tells a lot of useful things, and even if you don’t speak English, still take an hour of your time and watch it. I promise you won't regret it.
Development of leg speed: little tricks
Let's start with the most important thing - the defensive stance. It is very important to learn the correct defensive stance, which can be very different from what you are used to. So, the main thing in a defensive stance is good body balance. We have already talked about the importance of balance and methods of its development on the pages of this site, in the materials of Evgeny Burin ( General physical training of basketball players: part 1 and OFP: part 2 ).
Now, the key to a proper guard stance is to keep your head in line with your knees. If it is slightly behind the conditional line - you will fall back, or fall forward - if it is ahead.
The second moment - when moving right-left, forward-backward, you should practically not take your feet off the ground, you seem to be sliding on the parquet. This method of movement will reduce the time between repulsions from the ground, which means it will increase the speed of movement and change of direction.
The third point is the foot. It must be turned in the direction in which you are moving. Yes, it will really speed up your movement. And now let's see everything that I described above in a small video. The first part is about balance, then - about the minimum distance from the legs to the parquet, and the third - about the correct setting of the foot. I think, after such an explanation, the translation will be superfluous.
[youtube]VhWFyd97Xs8[/youtube]
Well, these little tricks will allow you to quickly move around the site, sharply changing the direction of movement.
And now, let's move on to the actual development of the speed qualities of the leg muscles, and for this we will use a very interesting simulator that each of us can make from improvised means in a few minutes.
Ladder Agility Drills
Ladder agility drills - this is the name of a series of exercises with a rope ladder located on the floor, are a great way to improve footwork speed, agility, coordination and overall speed on the court. These exercises are an integral part of many SAQ programs (Speed Agility Quickness Programs - programs for developing speed, agility and quickness) and complement a variety of training complexes in many sports.
These exercises are based on the principle “ Quality is more important than quantity ”, which means that after performing them you will not get tired and will not “breathe”, as, for example, after “ Super Shuttle ”. It is best to start these exercises at the very beginning of your workout, immediately after warming up and stretching, because the muscles must be fresh in order to provide good, quality movements.
And again, after doing these exercises, your muscles will still be ready for a fairly intense workout, so don't worry: you won't overload them with these exercises! Let's move on to the exercises themselves.
Exercises for the development of agility, speed and quickness of footwork
Exercise No. 1 – “classics”. This is one of the easiest agility exercises and is suitable for everyone.
- Begin the exercise in a starting position at the bottom of the stairs, feet shoulder-width apart.
- Jump forward with both feet and land on the first sector of the ladder on your left foot.
- Next, pushing off with your left foot, jump forward again, but land on two feet.
- Push off with both feet again, jump forward and land on the right foot.
- Pushing off only with the right foot, jump forward and land on two feet. This is 1 cycle. Repeat this cycle until the ladder ends.
"Classics"
Exercise No.
2 - "inside-out". This is another basic exercise, however, it is very effective.
- Begin the exercise with your feet shoulder-width apart before starting the stairs.
- Step (don't jump, but step) into the first section of the ladder, first with your left foot and then with your right foot.
- Once the right foot has entered the first section, immediately place the left foot to the left of the next section of the ladder, then the right foot to the right of the ladder.
- Again, step your left foot into the inside of the stairs, and then also step your right foot (as if to return to the previous position).
- Repeat this movement pattern until the ladder ends.
"In-out"
Exercise No. 3 - "step to the side" . This exercise will require more concentration and coordination of movements from you. Make a few trial attempts at low speed, and after that start working at full power.
- Start the exercise by standing near the lower left corner of the stairs (we started the exercise in the center before, but now we need to move a little to the left).
![]()
- Step onto the first section with your left foot, and without stopping immediately step there with your right (as if doing a jump, or jump stop; in the original this movement is called "1-2 motion", minimize the time between each step).
- Now you need to move to the right of the current section, again placing first the left and then the right foot.
- Now step diagonally to the left and up, again using the left and then the right foot.
- Move to the left as you exit the stairs, first with your left foot and then with your right foot. Here we are in the starting position.
- Continue in the same way to the end of the stairs. If you decide to perform this exercise several times, then each time start moving from the opposite side of the stairs, so your leading foot (in the example it is the left foot) will change regularly.
"Step to the side"
Exercise No. 4 - "Tango" . This exercise was named after a famous dance, and once you do it, you will immediately understand why.
- Begin this exercise by standing at the bottom left of the stairs (as in the previous exercise).
- Step your left foot over your right foot and stand in the middle of the first section.
- Continue without stopping, place your right foot at the level of the crossbar between the first and second section, and immediately place your left foot near the right.
- This exercise is performed on the count of 1-2-3, as in a dance.
- From this position, the right foot steps over the left and stands in the center of the second section of the ladder, then the left foot…..
oh, I can no longer describe these manipulations, I'm afraid that reading them you will get confused on the contrary. Let's just look at the picture, everything is quite clear and without explanation. Yes, you need to repeat the exercise until the ladder ends. "Tango"
Exercise No. 5 - "Five Steps". This is the most difficult exercise of all presented here, it will require a very high level of training and innate dexterity to complete it.
But if you learn to perform this exercise smoothly, without breaking down and at high speed, most of your opponents simply will not be able to keep up with your movements.
- Starting position - feet shoulder width apart, standing in front of the stairs in the center.
- Stand with your right foot to the right of the first section of the ladder, almost simultaneously placing your left foot on the first section of the ladder.
- The right foot moves to the left, after which the left moves to the second section (i.e. steps forward), and the right goes after it.
- Movement consists of 5 steps - this is the first phase. The second is almost similar to this one, but the movement begins in the left leg. The exercise must be repeated along the entire length of the stairs.
"5 steps"
That's all, the article came to an end, which told about how you can develop the speed of footwork at home. As for the stairs - of course you can buy it, you can make it from improvised materials, you can stick pieces of adhesive tape on the floor - in general, it all depends on your imagination and materials at hand.
Update: Sometimes I duplicate articles from this site on my blog, which is located on slamdunk.ru. In one of the comments, I was advised to watch this video about training with stairs. There are actually a lot of similar videos on Youtube, but I liked this one and didn't look any further. As a matter of fact, here it is:
[youtube]qhPN7B9bisU[/youtube]
Good luck with your training and see you soon on the pages of this site!
TOP 10 JUMP EXERCISES - maaario's blog
It is very important for a basketball player to have a high jump. Moreover, each player entering the court must have trained legs to perform explosive work. Today we will analyze the 10 most effective exercises to increase the jump.
So, let's begin. First, let's look at strength exercises:
1. Barbell squat. Weighted squats develop all leg muscles, abdominals and lower back muscles. Thus, this is the only exercise that allows you to strengthen all the muscle groups necessary for high jumps.
We recommend that you sit at least until your thighs are parallel to the floor. When doing a squat, make sure that the knees do not go ahead of the socks, because in this case there is a high probability of damaging the ligaments, and in basketball they always get a lot of stress anyway;
2. Squat with a barbell on a pedestal or bench. The exercise is similar to regular barbell squats. However, it has its own peculiarity. A cabinet or bench is designed to limit the amplitude of squats. This is necessary in order to already use explosive power. You should sit down in two counts. As soon as you touch the bounding surface with your hips, you abruptly get up to the starting position. Thus, you provide a slow stretch and a fast contraction of the thigh muscles. This exercise is performed with a lighter weight than a regular squat. Up to 70% of the maximum;
3. Snatch. Great weightlifting exercise. Perfectly develops intermuscular coordination, which is very important in basketball.
Plus, explosive strength is trained and most of the muscle groups involved in the jump are alternately involved in the work. Watch your back while doing this exercise. Start doing with small weights so as not to get injured right away;
4. Forward lunges with dumbbells. In this exercise, you will thoroughly work out all the muscles of the thigh and also use the back stabilizers. An excellent exercise for training the endurance of the thigh muscles. When performing, special attention should be paid to the position of the knee at the time of lowering. It should not protrude beyond the toe. Otherwise, there is a chance of overloading the knee joint;
5. Stepping onto the step with dumbbells. This exercise will allow us to train the pushing process. This point is very important if you want to make noticeable progress when training your jump. Unlike lunges, you can do this exercise with more weights. Don't rush when doing it. Remember that too intense movements will lead to premature fatigue.
It is, after all, a strength exercise.
So, we have analyzed the exercises aimed at strength work and at strengthening and developing muscle fibers. All exercises must be performed in 4 sets, including 10-12 repetitions. However, the number of repetitions in squats on a bench or bench, lunges forward with dumbbells and stepping on a step with dumbbells, we periodically recommend increasing to 16-18. This will allow your fibers to work in a slightly different way, which will also have a beneficial effect on your jump.
Next, consider jumping exercises for developing explosive strength, coordination and footwork speed, which is very important when training to jump.
1. Working with barriers. Using practice hurdles is an excellent way to develop fast footwork, coordination, leg hop and power. Hurdles are used in many professional basketball clubs. There are several steps to increasing the difficulty of training with hurdles. The main ones include regulating the height of the barriers and increasing the intensity of the footwork.
Do not rush to immediately start with high obstacles and high speeds. Increase the difficulty gradually;
2. Running work. First of all, these are sprints with full gear at distances of different lengths and shuttle running. With such training, we will qualitatively work out a quick start, repulsion of the legs, and also prepare ourselves for the work at a ragged pace, which is necessary during the game. We recommend varying the length of the distance. Especially in the case of a shuttle run;
3. Jumping to the ring. The exercise is performed with two legs. In the starting position, the legs are shoulder-width apart. This exercise perfectly trains balance and simulates the work of the body during the game. We divide jumps into two types. These are low-intensity jumps that are designed to work on footwork, landing, take-off and peak jumping. As well as serial jumps. In basketball, a very important factor is serial jumping, that is, the ability of an athlete to make several jumps in a row with the same efficiency.
In the fight under the ring, this can be a determining factor. Therefore, we must work out both options for jumps;
4. Jumping on the pedestal. This is a great exercise to practice your jumping skills and increase your jump height. When performing the exercise, do not narrow the distance between the legs, they should be shoulder-width apart. When landing on the bollard, try to transfer the load exclusively to the socks. In this exercise, it is important to use your hands. Thus, we involve in the process all the muscle groups involved in the jump when playing basketball. We vary the load by increasing the height of the pedestal;
5. Jumping from the depths. This exercise is aimed at practicing a repeated jump or a jump from a jump. Standing on the edge of the pedestal, you jump to the floor and then immediately jump as high as possible. Use your hands while doing this. Plus, landing is being worked out. Again, the main load should go to the socks, that is, to the calf muscle.
