“March Madness” means stressing over your bracket picks,
stealthily watching games at work and going out to play some ‘ball in the
driveway, at the playground or in the gym. Whether you are an NBA hall of famer
or a blacktop legend in your own mind, you have to train for the game. The TRX
is the perfect way to train for basketball no matter who you are. Chauncey
Billups, Kevin Durant and Dahntay Jones use the TRX to stay in top shape for
the NBA. Coaches, personal trainers, high school athletes and home exercisers
can get the same benefits anywhere, anytime.
Having a good game means performing your best and minimizing
the risk of injury. While it may not help with the follow through on your
three-pointer or running the pick-and-roll (seriously you really need to pass
more) Suspension Training on the TRX can improve your quickness, change of
direction, power, high intensity endurance, explosiveness and leaping ability. The TRX is definitely not a one-dimensional
player. You can use the TRX for warm up, movement prep, strength/power
development, balance and agility training, core conditioning and it is one of
the greatest flexibility tools around.
Experts agree that basketball training should focus on the
following areas:
- Core training. Sit ups and crunches are benched
for more functional suspended core exercises. The game is played on your feet
and your core works to resist rotation and extension, transmits power from your
legs to your arms and also drives rotational movements. Core training while
standing is major advantage of using the TRX.
- Single leg training. Most of the game takes
place on one leg whether it is running, cutting, landing or jumping. Training
to be balanced, strong and powerful in a single leg stance is mandatory.
- Train in all planes of motion. The ability to
move in 360 degrees comes from multiplanar training. The TRX excels in this
category.
- Agility training. Training to control your
center of gravity while changing direction or in different base of support
conditions will improve your agility. Learning to decelerate and accelerate
under control will help your crossover, change of speed and reduce risk of
injury.
Here is a “starting five” group of TRX exercises to help get
you game ready. Make sure you warm-up
properly and select the appropriate intensity for your fitness and ability
level.
- TRX Suspended Lunge is a tremendous single leg
strength, deceleration, acceleration and balance exercise that works the
posterior chain and integrates functional core strength all at once. This is a
must have in the workout. Adding a hop to the Suspended Lunge is an advanced
progression and increases the power output of the exercise.
- TRX Atomic Push-up integrates chest and
shoulder stability, core strength, power and high intensity cardio
training. Any version of the TRX atomic push-up is like running suicides with
your core.
- TRX Suspended Side Plank develops lateral core
strength and stability. The side plank is used specifically for basketball
players by top coaches as performance enhancement of skills like boxing out,
posting up and for prevention of low back pain. Adding rotation to the
Suspended Side Plank is another advanced progression that takes a good exercise
and makes it more effective, once you have mastered the static holds.
- TRX Crossing Balance Lunge works the hips, legs
and core in a multiplanar single leg stance. Be sure to maintain a tall
posture, keep the grounded heel down and drive through the hip and hamstrings.
- TRX Power Pull integrates multiplanar back,
shoulder and core training in a standing position.
Visit us on the Fitness Anywhere website and community to
get more progressions, regressions and training advice. Most of all, be sure to
make March Madness an active month by training and participating. Be a player
and not just a spectator.