The core, which is the abs and the lower back, is very important in the game of basketball and should definitely be implemented into your basketball training schedule. Think the core isn’t important during the game? Think again. You use your core every time you jump to block, jump to rebound, jump to shoot, when playing defense, when driving to the bucket with an explosive first step, etc. I know you get the idea.
Now, you might be thinking, “I already work on my abs.” That’s all fine but for basketball, defined abs doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to be able to do all the movements mentioned above to the best of your ability. When you’re working on your core, you need to focus on strength but also, mobility, flexibility and balance. All this can be done with the use of a stability ball or Swiss ball.
The use of a Swiss ball incorporated into your workouts will allow you to:
Develop strength and flexibility in the core.
Decrease the likelihood of injuries by strengthening weakened muscles and improves posture.
A variety of exercises can be performed with a pair of dumbbells and/or resistance bands.
An important advantage of strength ball training is that it allows strengthening of weak muscles that prevent injury. This is mainly because when your body has weak muscles and they are put through a rigorous test like an intense ball game, you are much more likely to get injured. Swiss ball exercises aid your weak muscles and prevent injuries.
In order to use Swiss balls to their potential, you need to educate yourself about the proper uses of the Swiss ball through an instructor or proper information from an authority such as Lorne Goldenberg. He explains the various exercises in depth.
Put It Into Action!
Here are a couple of exercises that you can do to start strengthening your core and sculpting your abs:
Superman
Start with laying your stomach on the ball and your body at a 45-degree angle. At this point, you can balance yourself with the tips of your toes. Lift your arms and stretch them out just like if you were flying and keep your arms straight while keeping your balance. This exercise works the whole back and the glutes.
Abdominal rolls
Start with lying on your back on the floor with the knees slightly bent and the feet flat on the floor. Take the Swiss ball and place it on your thighs and close to the knees. Lift your head and shoulder blades off the floor while rolling the ball away from your upper body with the hands moving laterally towards your knees, hold for 1 second, and come back to starting position.
Keep in mind that there are many exercises you can do to train your core. The Swiss ball is no the be all end all of core training. Did this help? Don’t understand the importance of the core? Let us know.
It’s now 10 days into the year 2009 but do you have any New Year’s resolutions for basketball training? If you haven’t, let me save you the remaining 355 days and help you get on track .
Each one of us has goals in life like becoming wealthy or getting a high paying job or even buying that new Kobe shoe (I don’t care what people say, I like it). Even though you can achieve all of the above if you work for it, you are getting $#%@ unless you set goals with deadlines. A goal without a deadline is simply a dream that ultimately leads to disappointment and I know you want to run faster or be able to dunk but you have to put deadlines to those goals to really help you get there.
I want you to stop right now. Go get a sheet of paper; from the printer, the scrap of paper lying in front of you, whatever. write down when you want to be able to accomplish this goal of yours. This is simple but effective. Write this down as big as you can:
I, ______(Name), will be able to ______(Your Goal) by __________(Date)
This piece of paper is dictating what you will accomplish. I didn’t say what you might accomplish, but what you will accomplish. I know I might be sounding more and more like a life coach but trust me, this will help you become a better player if you do this exercise. If you read by it and still haven’t wrote it down, do it now. So, now that you have your goal written, take another sheet of paper….I’m waiting….ok and write down what your next actionable steps are. This simply means, what do you have to do next in order to accomplish your goals? This is an example of a list:
This list might not look like your list because you might already have a vertical program you bought, you might already eat 5-6 meals a day and drink more than enough water, but what’s next? You have to ask yourself, what’s stopping me from achieving my goals for basketball training? Is it a lack of time? My health? Lack of a gym or access to weights? You have to dig and find the answers.
Now, this is what you have:
A concrete goal that you are more than willing to accomplish
The next steps you can take right now to accomplish those goals
Isn’t this a much better New Year’s resolution than “get healthy”? Anyways, at this point, the only thing stopping you from your goals is…you guessed it, YOU. I have guided you quickly through searching for your desired goal, making it concrete by writing it down and taking the next actionable steps. Take advantage of this and let me know if this helps you.
PS: You know what I think but what do you think?
Does writing your goals help you or do you think it’s a waste of time?
