The lateral lunge thrust alternating legs strengthens the legs, hips, torso, arms and shoulders. Lateral lunge thrusts develop and strengthen basic motor patterns. The lateral movement increases inner thigh flexibility. This is a great bodyweight conditioning exercise that can be performed at home or in the gym. Use dumbbells for increased upper body demand.
Lateral lunge touchdown and thrust strengthens the legs, hips, torso, arms and shoulders. This bodyweight exercise strengthens basic motor patterns and provides a great conditioning workout. Alternating legs provides a balanced, full-body workout. Lateral lunge touchdown and thrust is a perfect for drill for basketball players due to the side-to-side movement and upper-body component. Use a medicine ball for added resistance.
Lateral lunges with rotation are a great exercise for basketball and tennis. This exercise develops and strengthens basic motor patterns and transfers well to the court. Rotation during the exercise activates the core muscles and provides stimulation for the core. Holding a medicine ball or dumbbell will further challenge your trunk muscles.
The lateral shuffle is a dynamic warm-up drill that mimics performance in sport. Rest periods can be kept to a minimum in order to challenge the cardiovascular system. For best results keep a low center of gravity. This exercise requires the hips and hamstrings to decelerate before alternating directions. Deceleration is a common cause of many sport-specific injuries. Perform the lateral shuffle for added agility and quickness.
The medicine ball sit up sculpts and strengthens the abs and obliques. Sit ups also involve the hip flexors and lower back to a lesser degree. Using the med ball will continue to challenge the abs long after basic crunches have been mastered.
The A-Bound exercise can be used as a dynamic warm-up or plyometric, lower-body exercise. No equipment is needed so it can be done by almost anyone, anywhere. You might find this exercise in strength and conditioning program for basketball, track and filed, soccer and football. A good base level of lower body strength and conditioning is desired before attempting the A-Bound.
The alternating split-squat jump is not for beginners. This exercise is very demanding and requires a strong base before attempting. After performing a few reps you will feel like you ran wind sprints. It’s a good exercise for building strength and explosiveness for sports such as basketball, volleyball and other jumping sports. While building strength this exercise is also good for cardiovascular endurance. You might consider this exercise if you are cross training.
The arm-reaching sit up is a more advanced version of the arm-reaching crunch. You’ll need to develop a baseline level of abdominal strength before attempting this exercise. Due to the full range of motion it’s recommended that you do not have any pre-existing lower back complications. This exercise is good for times when you can’t make it to the gym or you have no equipment. When performed slowly the arm-reaching sit up will be very challenging. You may use your hands to assist you squeeze
The Backward Jump Burpee is perfect for improving performance in football, volleyball, and martial arts. The Backward Jump Burpee strengthens the whole body, while developing explosive power in the legs. Perform the Backward Jump Burpee with the Forward and Lateral-Jump Burpee for a terrific metabolic workout.
If your push ups are too easy you can perform them with your feet on a ball. By raising your feet you add more resistance to the upper chest muscles, much like the incline bench press. The swiss ball also adds the extra challenge of maintaining your balance while performing the exercise. The instability challenges your core and activates the abdominals, low back and obliques.
The push up is a great upper-body exercise. When performed often, it develops strength and endurance in the chest, shoulders, and triceps. Performing push-ups with a resistance band increases the difficulty of the exercise. If you’ve been leaving the push-up out of your upper-body workout because it’s too easy, add the resistance band and you’ll be surprised at the results. The exercise is fun to perform and feels good on the upper-body muscles. Best of all you can do push-ups anywhere.
The push-up performed with your feet elevated and using a resistance band for added difficulty will strengthen your chest, shoulder, and triceps. You can perform this exercise at home or at the gym. To increase the difficulty select a resistance band that is less elastic and provides more tension. Keep your core tight and back straight as you raise and lower yourself.
The barbell complex is a “hybrid” exercise combining the hang clean, back squat and shoulder press. There are many variation of this exercise, but most often it is performed with an Olympic lift, squat, push and pull. It’s very demanding on your short-term energy systems and is effective for conditioning for sports. You can use a PVC pipe, wood dowel or empty barbell to begin. Once you feel comfortable with the movements you can slowly add weight.
The barbell forward lunge strengthens the glutes and thighs. You can take a shorter step forward if you are just learning to perform lunges. Once you have performed a few sets you can increase your stride length to activate the hamstrings and glutes. Dumbbells may be used in place of a barbell if you have difficulty balancing the bar on your back. The barbell forward lunge can be included in your lower-body workout or circuit training routine.
The “regular” or parallel squat is a great exercise for lower-body strength. Parallel is defined as where the tops of the thighs reach parallel to the floor. Set the safety pins in the squat rack to receive the bar if you are unable to rack the weight. The parallel squat develops the quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, calves and low back. The parallel squat can be used to develop strength, definition and muscle size in the legs.
The barbell reverse lunge is a more dynamic movement than the stationary lunge. It places a higher demand on the inner thigh muscles than the stationary lunge. The barbell reverse lunge can be performed at home or at the gym. If a barbell is not available dumbbells can be used. Keep your torso upright and maintain a tight core. Reverse lunges are a great way to add variety to your workout routine. After mastering the stationary and forward lunge progress to the reverse lunge.
The barbell step up strengthens the hip extensors (glutes, hamstrings, hip adductors), and knee extensors (quadriceps). These muscles are called upon daily in our everyday lives and are critical for performance in sport and recreation. The barbell step up is a great exercise and can be used to build strength, definition and size. Varying the height of the step is a great way to challenge your muscles to adapt. Select a step height that creates a 90 degree angle on the lead leg.
The lunge is a great bodyweight exercise for the lower body. Adding dumbbells is a great way to challenge the leg muscles to grow stronger. Bodyweight lunges can be used as a conditioning exercise by performing a high number of repetitions and keeping the rest between sets to a minimum. Use lighter dumbbells for strength-endurance and heavier dumbbells to develop strength-size.
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