Basketball Plyometrics
Basketball Plyometrics is a workout structure designed to increase the explosive-reactive power of basketball athletes. This training involves the sudden contraction and rapid stretching of muscles in all parts of the body, particularly in the calves and lower muscles.
Unlike normal athletic training, plyometrics is a neuromuscular exercise in which the athlete consciously places his body at rest followed by a quick voluntary muscle contraction. Althoughthis workout might seem that you are forcing unnatural movements on your muscles, plyometrics is actually a simulation of what basketball players do in real games.
A basic plyometric exercise that can benefit basketball players is the ‘basic plyo jump’. In this exercise, you jump from a rest position, go down to knee level as you land and relax your muscles, then jump up again from the crouched position. This exercise is very stressful to the calf muscles, but it will improve your vertical leap and explosiveness.
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All basketball players whether young or old at any skill and competition level can benefit from basketball plyometrics. A big reason for this is that a basketball game can be equated to a series of plyometric exercises. Basketball actions such as rebounding, dunking, taking the first step to drive to the basket, changing your pace while handling the ball, and finishing layups against defenders all require explosive movements and excellent vertical leap. Great rebounders have the ability to jump quickly for multiple times to go for the ball, while great dunkers possess the explosive power to blow past his defender and still have enough power to gather for the dunk. All of these athletic skills can be improved with basketball plyometrics.
Since basketball is naturally plyometric, adding a large volume of plyometric drills may do more harm than good for professional basketball players. In the case of the NBA where teams play 82 games in the regular season not including the pre-season and the playoffs, the average NBA player complete more than 500 full-speed jumps per week. Add in all the workouts in practice and players get all the plyometric workout that they need. At this point, adding more to their usual basketball activity may lead to bone and muscle fatigue which can make them prone to injuries. NBA trainers apply full-scale basketball plyometrics to players only during the off-season or if the player has been injured and he needs to workout to get back to game speed.
On the other hand, amateur basketball players and streetballers can benefit a lot from basketball plyometrics. Young players who start early with this kind of workout will see a vast improvement in explosiveness, quickness, flexibility, and body control. Budding young players who want to play at a high level in the future should start basketball plyometrics as early as possible.