Top 5 Lower Body Strength Exercises For Basketball Players
Why is it Important to Build Lower Body Strength?
It is important for basketball players to prioritize building strength in the lower body. Lower body strength is a key component to being able to sprint faster, jump and land better, and change directions quicker.
It will also help reduce your chances of getting injured on the court. Building lower body strength can often improve your coordination and mobility because when your lower body is stronger, you have more control and mobility in that area to get into deeper ranges of motion in the ankles, knees, and hip area. More range of motion means better movement quality.
However, when it comes to choosing lower body strength exercises for basketball players, there are things that you need to consider. Basketball players are taller athletes and typically have longer limbs which makes it challenging when performing certain lower body exercises.
Here are the Top 5 Lower Body Strength Exercises For Basketball Players
1. Trapbar Deadlift
The trapbar deadlift is great for building posterior chain strength. This is a way better deadlift variation for basketball players because it puts you in a safer position with the load evenly distributed and your pulling from the side of your body versus in front of you. A barbell deadlift is great but often times can be challenging for taller basketball players to get into position because they have to get deeper to pick up the load in front of them and can compensate from the lower back by not having great mobility to pull the barbell from the front.
When it comes to sets and repetitions, you can do this movement for 3-5 sets and 3-10+ reps.
2. Landmine Squat
The landmine squat is a great movement for strengthening the knee area while improving ankle range of motion. This squat variation is effective for basketball players because you are able to squat with a full range of motion and have better leverage because you are on a slight angle to squat. You also have better anterior core engagement because you are holding the weight in front of your chest.
You can perform this movement for 3-5 sets and 6-12 reps.
3. Dumbbell Front Foot Elevated Split Squat
The dumbbell front foot elevated split squat is great for strengthening the lower body and foot & ankle complex. This split squat variation is great for building foot and ankle stability which will help you reduce the chances of spraining your ankle. This exercise can also be done barefoot to increase engagement with your stabilizer muscles of the foot and challenge your stability.
4. Dumbbell Lunge Matrix
The dumbbell lunge matrix is a great movement to improve lower body strength and mobility in all three planes. Your hips are at the center of the body and are meant to move in all three planes of motion.
5. Dumbbell Single Leg Deadlift Airplane to Squat
This is a great movement for improving single-leg stability, balance, and coordination. It strengthens the posterior and anterior side of the lower body. Having great single-leg strength and stability is crucial in basketball because most of the time when your running, sprinting, cutting, and jumping you are depending on one leg.
BONUS: Nording Hamstring Curl
This movement is a great way to strengthen the hamstrings by lengthening the area. Stronger hamstrings can help reduce lower leg injuries and improve your explosiveness when sprinting.
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