Strength training workouts for basketball should be structured to improve your athleticism. If your strength-training exercises aren’t designed to do this, then your program is flawed and your competition will be beating you in front of the crowds all season long. I know you don’t want that.
As a strength and conditioning specialist and professional who has trained athletes and fitness enthusiast for over 8 years, I know you want to be your best when you step on the basketball court. As a pro, if I had to pick one exercise to give you to improve your game, it would be the one-arm overhead kettlebell snatch! By now, you may be familiar with the old kettlebell and understand that this device has been around and used by the best athletes and strongmen in the world. Champions have used this device to build everything from speed, power, explosiveness, and superior conditioning. The overhead snatch is an Olympic-style lift that encompasses all of these physical traits that will make you a dunk master!
To perform the overhead snatch, you need to understand proper kettlebell technique and know a couple of previous lifts. Before completing the overhead snatch, you should have prior knowledge of proper form to execute the single-arm kettlebell swing and high pull. To describe this explosive strength training exercise, it basically involves vertically and explosively pulling the kettlebell between your legs and locking it overhead. This is done by pulling the bell with one arm to a position to the side of the head. To do this, you must quickly flex and extend both your hips and knees to generate the force necessary to raise the bell to the lateral position of your head. The key is to make sure the bell stays in line with your forearm and is stable (no wobble). This movement should simulate pulling back a bow. Once the bell is in the lateral position of your head, simply strike your palm vertically toward the sky and lock your elbow and shoulder in place. Be sure not to let the bell hit or hit the back of your arm. If it does this, then you either have faulty technique or the weight is too heavy.
This single strength and conditioning training exercise is definitely the best for getting your body into basketball shape. If you haven’t included the old-fashioned kettlebell in your own personal program, then you’re holding back your progress. I’ll even make it easier for you by encouraging you to access my other articles. Remember that anyone can train hard, but only champions train smart!
