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How to strengthen your knees for basketball
How to strengthen your knees for basketball
Basketball Players: Bulletproof Your Knees and Ankles
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For basketball players, it’s impossible to completely eliminate the risk of an ankle or knee injury. However, you can reduce your risk by:
- Strengthening the ligaments around your joints
- Improving your balance and proprioception
- Strengthening your hamstrings, calves, shins and foot muscles
- Improving your landing mechanics
The best way to accomplish these objectives is to perform ankle and knee pre-hab exercises before your basketball workout. (Watch Dwyane Wade strengthen his ankle muscles.)
Basketball Ankle Pre-Hab CircuitPerform each circuit two to three times per week during your warm-ups. Do each exercise for 30 seconds and repeat the circuit up to three times.
Ankle Circuit 1- Jumping Rope (any way you can)
- Walk on Toes
- Walk on Heels
- Walk on Toes, Toes Pointed In
- Walk on Toes, Toes Pointed Out
- Walk on Inside of Feet
- Walk on Outside of Feet
- Ankle Hops
Ankle Circuit 2- Single-Leg Med Ball Chest Pass (each leg)
- Single-Leg Med Ball Toss at Shoulder (each leg)
- Single-Leg Med Ball Toss at Knee (each leg)
Ankle Circuit 3Try to perform with your eyes closed.![]()
- Single-Leg Calf Raises (each leg)
- Single-Leg Squats (each leg)
- Single-Leg RDL (each leg)
Basketball Knee Pre-Hab CircuitPerform each circuit two to three times per week during your warm-ups. Do each exercise for 30 seconds and repeat the circuit up to three times.
Knee Circuit 1- Bodyweight Quarter-Squats
- Squat Jumps (stick the landing)
- Lunges
- March
- Heavy Rope Slams
- Reverse Lunge while Heavy Rope Slam
Knee Circuit 2- Bodyweight Quarter-Squats
- Counter-Movement Jumps (stick the landing)
- Reverse Lunges
- Inchworms
- Kettlebell Two-Handed Swings
- Kettlebell Reverse Lunge and Two-Handed Swing
Knee Circuit 3- Bodyweight Quarter-Squats
- Scissor Jumps
- Lateral Lunges
- Reverse Crab Walks
- Physioball Leg Curls
- Physioball Hip Raises
For more ways to prevent injury, check out STACK’s sports injuries page.
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For basketball players, it’s impossible to completely eliminate the risk of an ankle or knee injury. However, you can reduce your risk by:
- Strengthening the ligaments around your joints
- Improving your balance and proprioception
- Strengthening your hamstrings, calves, shins and foot muscles
- Improving your landing mechanics
The best way to accomplish these objectives is to perform ankle and knee pre-hab exercises before your basketball workout. (Watch Dwyane Wade strengthen his ankle muscles.)
Basketball Ankle Pre-Hab CircuitPerform each circuit two to three times per week during your warm-ups. Do each exercise for 30 seconds and repeat the circuit up to three times.
Ankle Circuit 1- Jumping Rope (any way you can)
- Walk on Toes
- Walk on Heels
- Walk on Toes, Toes Pointed In
- Walk on Toes, Toes Pointed Out
- Walk on Inside of Feet
- Walk on Outside of Feet
- Ankle Hops
Ankle Circuit 2- Single-Leg Med Ball Chest Pass (each leg)
- Single-Leg Med Ball Toss at Shoulder (each leg)
- Single-Leg Med Ball Toss at Knee (each leg)
Ankle Circuit 3Try to perform with your eyes closed.
- Single-Leg Calf Raises (each leg)
- Single-Leg Squats (each leg)
- Single-Leg RDL (each leg)
Basketball Knee Pre-Hab CircuitPerform each circuit two to three times per week during your warm-ups. Do each exercise for 30 seconds and repeat the circuit up to three times.
Knee Circuit 1- Bodyweight Quarter-Squats
- Squat Jumps (stick the landing)
- Lunges
- March
- Heavy Rope Slams
- Reverse Lunge while Heavy Rope Slam
Knee Circuit 2- Bodyweight Quarter-Squats
- Counter-Movement Jumps (stick the landing)
- Reverse Lunges
- Inchworms
- Kettlebell Two-Handed Swings
- Kettlebell Reverse Lunge and Two-Handed Swing
Knee Circuit 3- Bodyweight Quarter-Squats
- Scissor Jumps
- Lateral Lunges
- Reverse Crab Walks
- Physioball Leg Curls
- Physioball Hip Raises
For more ways to prevent injury, check out STACK’s sports injuries page.
Share This Story!
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3 Knee-Strengthening Exercises for Basketball Players
This article originally appeared on BetterBraces.com.
Basketball is a fast-moving sport that demands endurance from the players and strength and flexibility in the knees—sudden stops, pivots and jumps put pressure and strain on this area of the leg, often leading to injuries.
You can work to prevent knee injuries and pain by taking care of your body. Use these exercises, all of which work to strengthen the ligaments and muscles around your joints, to become a better player with strong, resilient knees.
Lateral Lunges
Sometimes, simple, traditional bodyweight exercises are all you need.
That's the case with lateral lunges, which put a slight twist on the traditional movement, placing all the focus on strengthening your quads and your knees.
This movement also improves force absorption in the knees and teaches your body how to control your weight during fast, directional movements.
Directions: Stand with feet hip-width apart and keep your upper body straight. Step out with your right foot and lean down into your right leg so that you're squatting on just one side. Keep the left leg and back straight—don't lean forward. Push off from your right foot to return to start. Repeat on the left side for one rep. Aim for 8 to 10 reps.
Bodyweight Quarter Squat
The benefit of a bodyweight quarter squat is a matter of pure volume. As opposed to a parallel squat, where the body often tires after 8 to 10 reps, quarter squats allow you to do 20 to 30 reps, directing extra attention to your knees and quads.
Directions: Push hips back, keep back straight and "sit down" just slightly so your knees are at a 45-degree angle.
Return to start to complete one rep. Aim to complete 20 to 30 quarter squats, in the middle of your workout.
Physioball Leg Curl
This exercise helps strengthen your knees, hamstrings and core—all of which play an important role when pivoting and stabilizing your body during a game. This is a great exercise for the end of your workout because it's slower-paced and performed on the ground.
Directions: Lay on a mat, and place your heels on a physioball so that your legs are straight out in front of you. Keeping your core engaged and hips raised, roll the ball in toward your body, so your knees are bent and the physioball is now below the balls of your feet. Return to start for one rep. Aim for 10 to 12 reps.
It's important for basketball players to focus on strengthening their knees and the muscles and ligaments surrounding them. Not only will it help you stay injury free, but it will make you a stronger player as well. Incorporate these simple exercises into two or three workouts during the week to feel a difference in your knees and your game.
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Slamdunk Journal :: Exercises for the knees
How to strengthen get rid of pain.
The knees are one of the most vulnerable places when training and working on your feet. To maintain the health of the knee joints, you need not only to eat right, supplying the body with the necessary elements, but also to regularly perform exercises to strengthen the joints. In this article, we will not only tell you how to strengthen your knees and get rid of pain, but also share the basics that you need to know when working with your knees.
Who specifically needs to do the exercises
These exercises are recommended for both professional athletes and ordinary people, regardless of whether they have joint problems or not.
In addition, there are certain categories of people who need to pay attention to the exercises if they want to keep their knees healthy:
- Waiters, sellers, administrators, couriers and all those who work on their feet
- Overweight people
- Athletes, including powerlifters and anyone involved in strength training
- People who experience intermittent joint pain or stiffness
- People with a genetic predisposition to joint diseases
As you can see, almost everyone needs such exercises.
For athletes, they will help strengthen joints and avoid injuries, and for people not associated with sports - to avoid very unpleasant diseases in the future.
How training affects joints and relieves pain
The knee joints are supported by muscles and elastic ligaments. This is a delicate system, and if one of the mechanisms fails, the entire knee as a whole suffers. Our goal is to give an adequate load to increase the strength of muscles and ligaments, increase blood circulation and release synovial fluid in the joint. In combination, this gives a positive preventive and therapeutic effect.
Please note that joint exercises should not cause acute pain. In this case, you should consult a doctor so that he can prescribe adequate treatment, which may include both medications and proper training.
Five best exercises to strengthen your knees
Step up; Step on the bench
One of the most effective exercises that not only strengthens the joints and small muscles of the knees, but also develops the large gluteal and quadriceps muscles of the legs.
This exercise requires good coordination at first, but the effect is worth it. To further increase the load and strengthen the muscles and joints more, you can use dumbbells or other additional weight in the hands.
Walking lunges
This exercise develops the hips, knees and stabilizing muscles as it requires good balance. It also provides good stretch to the thigh muscles, so it is used to reduce the occurrence of some common leg injuries.
This exercise can be performed on the spot, but walking lunges give a better load on the legs, and also develops more stabilizer muscles that improve balance.
Squats
Our body is literally made for squats. This simple and understandable movement perfectly develops the muscles of the legs, strengthens the muscles and joints of the knees, and therefore it can be safely called one of the most effective.
Naturally, one must be guided by sensations. If squats cause acute pain, you should temporarily abandon them in favor of other exercises until the muscles are strengthened.
It's better to see a doctor!
Single Leg Squat
Advanced; single-leg squats require more stabilizing muscle involvement, which promotes their development, and puts more stress on the knees accordingly.
You should move on to these squats if you feel confident doing standard ones. At first, doing the exercise can be difficult, so you can use a chair as an emphasis.
Glute bridge
Useful exercise for developing the muscles of the legs and lower back in general. And they are directly related to the knees; after all, weak muscles of the hips and torso can lead to problems with them and injuries.
This exercise also strengthens the small muscles and joints of the knees and ankles.
We've listed 5 of the most popular knee strengthening exercises that, if done regularly, will give you results in just a few weeks. There are other exercise options that will help you, but remember that if you do any of them correctly, you should feel tension, but not acute pain.
Otherwise, you should consult a doctor for treatment and prevention of worsening of the condition.
Slamdunk.su
Basketball practice hacks: how to score goals for beginners
Even if you are a novice basketball player, we will not give you a training plan, but we will tell you why the ball flies anywhere but into the ring and into your hands. It's all about technique: even with regular training and perseverance, novice adults and children often make simple mistakes. It's a shame, let's fix it. Below are 11 life hacks on how to hone your technique to increase the likelihood of a goal for your team.
Basketball Shot Rules for Beginners
1. Hands up
In pursuit of the attacker, raise your hands, even if you are standing with your back to the pass, and even more so if the ring is in front of you. Your raised hands will increase the chance of intercepting the ball from the opponent by 2 times. Don't overlook this little thing!
2.
Throw from the shield
Even Tim Duncan did not neglect them! A square is drawn on the basketball backboard. If you are standing opposite the ring, then aim at the middle of the upper part of the square, if you are standing on the side, then at the corner. If you hit this square, then the ball is at 90% of cases will fall into the ring. The law of physics and no cheating!
3. Look at the ring, not at the ball
Practice driving the ball with your hand, not your eyes, develop tactile control. Your eyes should be on the hoop while dribbling and be aware of the position of your body in relation to the hoop. Then you will be able to take the correct posture, and the throw will be effective.
4. Dribble with the balls of your fingers only
The palm should not touch the ball, only the pads of the fingers. Dribbling should become familiar to you, like an extension of your hand. Then you can change its trajectory at any time and you will have more chances to score goals.
Practice with the ball constantly.
5. Throw with one hand
If you throw the ball with two hands, you reduce the chance of hitting the basket. All the efforts of the throw are in one hand (in the right for right-handers, in the left for left-handers). The other hand only holds the ball, the leading one holds it with the fingers, not the palm.
6. Do not jump when protecting the ring
Jumping is the main mistake of rookie defenders. To intercept the ball and block the shot, simply stick out your hands. When you are in a jump, the attacker will easily bypass you.
7. Don't look back
When you dribble, don't look back, but dribble and aim for the ring, focus on shooting (or passing to another player on your team).
8. Bring the throw to automatism
Incorporate the most basic basketball techniques into your training plan and bring the shot to automatism. Throw first from a distance of half a meter from the ring, gradually increasing it.
Learn to throw the ball so that it hits the hoop without touching the edge.
Throw the ball with all fives and jump
Throwing Rules:
- Head in the center of the body - if tilted, accuracy is lost.
- Look at the ring: mentally build a trajectory. If you are far away, the ball flies in a curved curve with a maximum height of 2 meters above the hoop.
- A strong hand is in front and throws, a weak hand is on the side and directs, only holding the ball. The elbow of the throwing hand must be in line with the ring.
- The ball must rest on the fingers without touching the palm. The fingers are as far apart as possible and grab the ball.
- Throwing arm bent 90 degrees, forearm perpendicular to the floor. If you bend less, then you get not a throw, but a throwing of the ball horizontally.
The main thing in the throw is the position of the body and its balance. Place your feet apart and parallel to each other: it is important to orient them in the middle of the basket.
Then the direction of the body during the jump will coincide with the direction of the throw, and the ball will fly straight into the ring. When the feet are uneven, the ball flies in the wrong direction or does not reach (although the throw was normal).
Take a deep breath and release as you exhale.
How to hold the ball and shoot in basketball
How to throw correctly: straighten your arm, point your wrist up, and with your hand set the ball to rotate in the opposite direction from the flight. The ball should seem to "roll" off your fingers.
9. Copy masters and play as a team
Watch professional basketball games and try to copy the movements of your favorite players in training. And be sure to conduct game sparring - this will allow you to develop more techniques.
10. Do not throw in a straight line
The higher the arc of the ball, the greater the chance of a goal and the less chance of blocking by the opponent.
