General strength is the foundation for power and there’s no denying it’s a key ingredient to have for physical play in basketball.

It’s about holding your ground and being a physical force on the court.

Having good strength is essential for things like:

• Posting up (holding your position against a defender OR offensive player!)
• Boxing out for rebounds
• Setting solid screens
• Absorbing contact when driving to the basket (finishing plays and absorbing hits without losing balance)

Upper-body strength helps with shooting range, passing, and establishing an aggressive, impenetrable defense.

It helps your durability too since strong muscles and joints can withstand the tough demands of playing hard and reduce injury.

Building your Strength for Basketball:

To improve your strength, training focuses on resistance training for your upper and lower body as well as your core.

In addition, recovery and nutrition are just as important!

Sample Strength Training Routine:

• Day 1: Lower Body

  • Squats: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
  • Deadlifts: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
  • Lunges: 3 sets of 10 reps per leg
  • Calf Raises: 3 sets of 15-20 reps

• Day 2: Upper Body

  • Bench Press: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
  • Rows: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
  • Push-Ups: 3 sets to failure
  • Pull-Ups: 3 sets to failure

• Day 3: Core and Functional Strength

  • Planks: 3 sets of 1 minute
  • Russian Twists: 3 sets of 20 reps
  • Medicine Ball Slams: 3 sets of 15 reps
  • Resistance Band Lateral Walks: 3 sets of 15 steps each direction