In sports, we often have the right idea when we go to the weight lifting gym, but don’t execute properly. Most of the exercises we find on“ the internet and in most strength building programs are engineered for powerlifters or for Joe Schmoe’s New Year’s resolution plan to get buff.
While bulk and big muscles may give you the look of strength, for basketball conditioning,“ the goal is the opposite – we want to build as much strength as possible while adding as little weight as possible.
The goal is not to look big – it is to give ourselves an advantage on the basketball court. That’s where I’ve found combining the heavy, slow movement of the weight lifting with more explosive plyometric exercises yields maximum results; this is how we develop explosive power.
One of the areas I’ve found that will massively impact your ability to countless things in basketball – in everything from rebounding to going up in the lane, is your shoulder and upper back strength. Here’s a great exercise that focuses on these muscles for the most part.
Military Press/Vertical Medicine Ball Toss
Always workout with a spotter, or if under 18, an adult, for safety purposes when weightlifting.
Start sitting down, with a barbell resting on your collarbone. Your hands should be just inside shoulder width apart. The military press is simple from here. Focusing on keep your back straight and your abs tight, push the bar directly up into the air until your arms are just about fully extended.
Now bring the bar back down, slowly, into the original starting position, and repeat. Start players off with a light weight and high repetitions, working up to a higher weight with lower repetitions.
Here is the twist. Instead of just resting for a standard 60 second between sets, immediately grab a medicine ball, and from the same
position, push the ball up in to the air as quickly and with as much explosion as possible. This will activate the fast twitch fibers in your arms and chest. Once the medicine ball throw have been completed, let your players take anywhere from 1-2 minutes of rest before starting again. Here’s an example of a possible workout:
Set 1: 40 Pounds/12 Reps
10 Vertical Medicine Ball Tosses
Set 2: 50 Pounds/10 Reps
10 Vertical Medicine Ball Tosses
Set 3: 60 Pounds/8 Reps
10 Vertical Medicine Ball Tosses.
And if you’re coaching youth basketball, and your players are to young for heavy lifting, the medicine ball exercises are a great workout on their own. If you’re looking for more basketball conditioning drills, click the link to check out our entire archive!