Here are the top three weight resistance exercises you can do to improve your lateral movement. The last piece of the puzzle when improving lateral movement is to work on your explosiveness and footwork. Beginning with the inside foot, step into the first square of the ladder. 2. Importance of Basketball Exercise. Hard2Guard Player Development Newsletter 4.12 featured an interview with Stanford University’s basketball strength & conditioning coach Keith D’Amelio. Complete 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions. Try STACK Velocity Sports Performance training today. ( Log Out / Change ), You want to improve your speed, explosiveness and lateral first-step quickness specific to your sport? The goal is to improve the range of motion as well as the elasticity of the muscles that surround the hips. Don’t load the sled too heavily, but don’t make it too easy to pull either. If they don’t have lateral quickness, defenders are doomed. Begin this drill slowly, focusing on keeping your hips low and square and moving your feet smoothly. Leading with the same foot, step out of the ladder with both feet. Set up two cones about 5 yards apart. If your players are performing this exercise in a down-and-back format, they should stay facing the same direction coming back as they were going down. ( Log Out / 12 Lateral Movement Exercises. Face sideways and cross the trailing leg in front and then behind, and continue in the sideways direction. The traditional 5-10-5 version of this drill is often used to test football players. For athletes who move up and down a court or a field, such as tennis or basketball players, the ability to move forward and back as well as side to side is crucial to optimal performance. Perform 3-4 sets with one-minute rest between. This applies to all sports, and basketball is no exception. Focusing on lateral movement strength in the weight room yields tremendous benefits. Start by dragging the sled at a walking pace and increase it to a lateral sprint. Walk for either a set distance or for 10-12 steps in each direction. Our new athletic performance program is scientifically designed to improve your first-step, Velocity Sports & Therapy - Frisco/Carrollton. Sets/Duration: 6×10-20 seconds (3 as lead and 3 as shadow), with 1 minute rest between sets. Hard2Guard Player Development Newsletter 4.12, 2nd Annual Boston Hockey Summit and Basketball Symposium, Combine Tests Predictive Value for Professional Sports Success. Beginning on one foot, jump sideways to the opposite side (if on your right foot, jump to the left), and land on the opposite leg. Don’t worry about speed in the beginning. UltraSlide’s products will meet and exceed your training equipment necessities. Starting at Cone 1, sprint laterally to the opposite cone, touch the line, and sprint laterally back to the first cone. Log in now. Perform 3-4 sets of 10-20-yard Side Squat walks in each direction, resting 1 minute between sets. Next post: Combine Tests Predictive Value for Professional Sports Success, Previous post: College Basketball Off-Season Training. Perform 3-4 sets with one-minute rest between. A lateral trainer for basketball players is a great way to up your workout routine either for solo training or group workouts. Sets/Reps: 2×5, with 1 minute rest between sets. When you reach it, shuffle back to the first cone. Most athletes focus on linear speed, and they often neglect lateral speed and quickness. Plus, they're a lot more fun than sit-ups. These are things you gain through exercise. These simple drills will have you moving smoothly and quickly in no time. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. Linear Training Vs. Lateral Training. Jump with as much power as you can. The foot nearest the ladder always steps first. Build Strong Joints. Follow with your second foot. The last piece of the puzzle when improving lateral movement is to work on your explosiveness and footwork. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. However, for the purpose of improving lateral quickness, you will perform a 5-5-5-5 version. Of course depending on your exercise, you can also target your legs or upper body. Linear and lateral training refer to ways of designing agility drills for sports training. Here is a new addition to our movement drill and animal movement compilations. Pull the sled using lateral movement for about 90 feet. Natural physical gifts allow you to get in a team, but to survive even a few days of training, you will need agility, lateral movement and explosive power. Footwork and Plyometric Drills. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Our program is designed to help you get quicker when moving from side to side so you can play better basketball defense. This plyometric exercise is also a footwork and balance drill, but it will help you improve your lateral movement capabilities. Start by dragging the sled at a walking pace and increase it to a lateral sprint. Your feet should never cross. Mountain Climbers (knee outside the elbow). When you’re shopping for the right board, make sure you take a look at the accessories as well. One of you is the lead, the other is the shadow. Lateral Movement Training for Basketball Hard2Guard Player Development Newsletter 4.12 featured an interview with Stanford University’s basketball strength & conditioning coach Keith D’Amelio. This time we are doing lateral movements. Keep your torso tall and erect and your head forward. Practice lateral movement skills to improve your ability to move effortlessly and at full speed on gameday. Step 2 – Perform 2 sets of 10 repetitions of each of the following exercises: Step 3 – Stretch your quads, hip flexors, hamstrings, IT bands, glutes and adductors. Best Lateral Trainer Exercises for Basketball Players. August 10, 2016 by VAHVA Fitness. Here are the videos: You must log in to post a comment. Slideboards are a staple in professional performance and physical therapy centers all over the country. The 2 in, 2 out drill is a classic and it’s excellent for improving lateral footwork. Sets/Reps: Repeat this pattern in a smooth and controlled manner twice through the ladder, resting 30 seconds between sets. ( Log Out / Side Squat Walk: Holding either a dumbbell or kettlebell against your chest, assume a squat position. You absolutely need to have adequate mobility in your hips. And let’s face it, nobody wants to look silly. A defender who is slow laterally will be easily juked and left looking silly on the court. Touch the line and repeat until you have covered the distance four times for 20 yards. This may be one of the best exercises to help basketball players develop lateral quickness and improve their reaction time. A few simple exercises will help you quickly improve lateral movement as a defender. 3. Side Lunges: Holding either a dumbbell or a kettlebell against your chest (like a Goblet Squat), take a big step out to the side, push your hips out in the same direction, sink into a squat position with the other leg still straight, and explosively push back up to your starting position.