Dominate Flag Football, Pick Up Basketball or Any Other Sport Where You Can Show Off
Luka Hocevar asked:
Even if you don’t play sports on the college or pro level you probably enjoy playing pick up basketball, flag football, or softball. (Especially if there’s a keg involved!)
Sure, competing is fun. But it’s even more fun when you’re dominating, getting some respect from your friends, and a few extra looks from random hot women who happen to be watching.
Being a presence on the court or field takes some work though. First, of course is skill. But what I want to focus on is the oft-neglected aspect of sports: physical condition. You don’t have to train four hours a day to get in great shape. Add some of these exercises and drills into your training sessions and you will start seeing some significant improvements in your sports performance. First, though, a few descriptions.
Injury Prevention
Strength
Explosiveness
Reactivity:
Conditioning
Sample Program:
Day 1 – Lower Body
Dynamic Warm Up: overhead squat, leg swings, static lunges, wall slides, inchworm, fire hydrant circles, groiners, planks/side planks
Explosiveness, reactivity:
Single Leg Lateral Box Jump 3 x 8/each side
Power Skipping 3 x 25 yards
10 yard accelerations 5 sets (1 minute break)
Strength:
A. Box Squats 4 sets x 6 reps
B. DB Reverse Lunge 4 sets x 8/each side
C1. Single Leg Romanian Deadlift 3 sets x 8 reps
C2. Back Extension 3 sets x 10 reps
C3. Ab Circuit (sprinter sit ups, v-ups, toe touches, thrusters) 3 sets x 10 reps/each
Conditioning:
1. 10 mountain climbers into 20 yard shuttle sprint (10 yards down and back) x 8 sets (30
seconds rest between sets)
2. 4 squat thrusts into 15 yard sprint x 6 sets (45 seconds rest in between sets)
3. 60 yard shuttle (4 x 15 yards down/back) x 4 sets (45 seconds rest between sets)
Conditioning: Choose an exercise (ex: running, lateral slides in defensive stance, jump rope, squat thrusts) and start of with 30 seconds of work followed by 60 seconds of rest. As you get more conditioned cut down the rest time. Start of by doing this for 15 minutes.
Day 2 – Upper Body
Dynamic Warm Up: overhead squat, leg swings, static lunges, wall slides, inchworm, scapular push ups, planks/side planks, sleeper stretch
Explosiveness, reactivity:
Reflexive Ankle Jumps 4 x 30 jumps
Rhythmic Squat Jumps 3 x 10 jumps
Strength:
A. Incline Close Grip Bench Press 4 sets x 6 reps
B1. Neutral Grip DB Bench Press 3 sets x 8 reps
B2. 1 Arm Bent Over Row 4 sets x 10 reps
C1. Rear Delt Flyes 3 sets x 12 reps
C2. Push Ups 3 sets x 15 reps
C3. Hanging Leg Raises 3 sets x 12-15 reps
Conditioning: Choose an exercise (ex: running, lateral slides in defensive stance, jump rope, squat thrusts) and start of with 30 seconds of work followed by 60 seconds of rest. As you get more conditioned cut down the rest time. Start of by doing this for 15 minutes.
Day 3 – Full Body Day
Dynamic Warm Up: overhead squat, leg swings, static lunges, wall slides, inchworm, scapular push ups fire hydrant circles, groiners, planks/side planks, sleeper stretch
Explosiveness, reactivity:
5-10-5 drill 5 sets
Tuck Jumps 3 sets x 10 reps
3 Step Vertical Jump 3 sets x 5 reps
Strength:
A. Deadlift Variation (trap bar, conventional, rack pull) 4 sets x 6 reps
B1. Floor Presses 3 sets x 8 reps
B2. Chin Ups 3 sets x 10 reps *
C1. Single Leg Squats (Pistols) 3 sets x 8 reps
C2. EZ Bar Tricep Extensions 3 sets x 12 reps
C3. Reverse Crunches 3 sets x 12 reps
Conditioning: Incorporate the sport of your choice and do drills with incomplete rest periods. For instance, for basketball set up two cones, start dribbling the ball from halfcourt towards the cone and do a cross over move then drive hard to the basket, jog back ton half court and repeat towards the other cone with a different cross over and then a pull up jumper. You should be going hard on the moves and then jogging or walking back to half court. Repeat this for 20 minutes. For football you could have someone throw to you while you are practicing running pass routes. Make sure you are taking incomplete breaks, as that is working on your conditioning. You can have fun with this part of the conditioning and switch it up. This is also a great way to improve skill work for your given sport.
: Very few sports are dominantly aerobic in nature. So why run on the hamster wheel for 30-60 minutes? You should include more anaerobic conditioning which is more specific to the demands of the sport that you like to play. Start including interval running, sprints, body weight circuits and agility circuits at the end of your strength training sessions or on the days following one.
Implementing these tips and exercises will have you one step closer to dominating the sport that you love to play. Don’t forget that the ingredients that needs to be in every program for it to have the best results – hard work and intensity! To make sure you have an idea how to implement the exercises and drills I will outline a sample 3 day a week program, so that you have an easier time getting started. I will give you around 8 weeks and then I expect some emails about how you dunked on someone or got the winning touchdown.
You have to be able to react quickly when you are playing most sports, which could mean changing direction, jumping consecutively to grab a rebound or avoiding a tackle that will have you take a week of sick leave to get you back to your senses. To improve reactivity you should add some lower/moderate impact plyometrics such as: Knees to chest tuck jump, reflexive ankle jumps, power skipping, 3 step jump for height, step up jumps, 4 star jump drill, rhythmic jump squat, lunge jumps. These should be done after the warm up and before you go into your strength training. These jumps will be done anywhere from 5 to 15 reps.: How fast you can go from standing still to jumping or sprinting is how explosive you are. If you want to blow by your defender with that first step then you need to incorporate some of these exercises into your training. Box Jumps, Broad Jumps, Medicine Ball Throws, 10-20 yard Sprints. The focus should be on quality and not quantity, look to start with around 5 sets of 5 reps. Do these exercises before your strength training and make sure that you do a thorough warm up before it.: Single leg training may be the most under utilized form of strength training even though most of the time we play sport we are really on one leg (running, jumping, balancing, etc.) The following exercises will work on single leg strength and also work on your posterior chain (the backside of your body), which is the real engine for sports. Reverse Lunges, Step Ups, Single Leg Squats, Single Leg Romanian Deadlifts, Lateral Lunges. Work these in after your maximal strength lower body exercise and start of by doing 8-12 reps on each leg.: One of the most useful things you can do for injury prevention is incorporating a dynamic warm up which will include foam rolling, mobility and activation drills. When you’re really tight in your ankles, hips and upper back, you’re just asking for a knee injury and some low back pain. Not only will these exercises help you stay injury free but they will also improve your performance in your training session. Squat to Stand, Leg Swings, Static Lunges, Lateral Lunges, Wall Slides, Scapular Pushups, Inchworms. You should do around 10-12 reps on each of these exercises.
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Even if you don’t play sports on the college or pro level you probably enjoy playing pick up basketball, flag football, or softball. (Especially if there’s a keg involved!)
Sure, competing is fun. But it’s even more fun when you’re dominating, getting some respect from your friends, and a few extra looks from random hot women who happen to be watching.
Being a presence on the court or field takes some work though. First, of course is skill. But what I want to focus on is the oft-neglected aspect of sports: physical condition. You don’t have to train four hours a day to get in great shape. Add some of these exercises and drills into your training sessions and you will start seeing some significant improvements in your sports performance. First, though, a few descriptions.
Injury Prevention
Strength
Explosiveness
Reactivity:
Conditioning
Sample Program:
Day 1 – Lower Body
Dynamic Warm Up: overhead squat, leg swings, static lunges, wall slides, inchworm, fire hydrant circles, groiners, planks/side planks
Explosiveness, reactivity:
Single Leg Lateral Box Jump 3 x 8/each side
Power Skipping 3 x 25 yards
10 yard accelerations 5 sets (1 minute break)
Strength:
A. Box Squats 4 sets x 6 reps
B. DB Reverse Lunge 4 sets x 8/each side
C1. Single Leg Romanian Deadlift 3 sets x 8 reps
C2. Back Extension 3 sets x 10 reps
C3. Ab Circuit (sprinter sit ups, v-ups, toe touches, thrusters) 3 sets x 10 reps/each
Conditioning:
1. 10 mountain climbers into 20 yard shuttle sprint (10 yards down and back) x 8 sets (30
seconds rest between sets)
2. 4 squat thrusts into 15 yard sprint x 6 sets (45 seconds rest in between sets)
3. 60 yard shuttle (4 x 15 yards down/back) x 4 sets (45 seconds rest between sets)
Conditioning: Choose an exercise (ex: running, lateral slides in defensive stance, jump rope, squat thrusts) and start of with 30 seconds of work followed by 60 seconds of rest. As you get more conditioned cut down the rest time. Start of by doing this for 15 minutes.
Day 2 – Upper Body
Dynamic Warm Up: overhead squat, leg swings, static lunges, wall slides, inchworm, scapular push ups, planks/side planks, sleeper stretch
Explosiveness, reactivity:
Reflexive Ankle Jumps 4 x 30 jumps
Rhythmic Squat Jumps 3 x 10 jumps
Strength:
A. Incline Close Grip Bench Press 4 sets x 6 reps
B1. Neutral Grip DB Bench Press 3 sets x 8 reps
B2. 1 Arm Bent Over Row 4 sets x 10 reps
C1. Rear Delt Flyes 3 sets x 12 reps
C2. Push Ups 3 sets x 15 reps
C3. Hanging Leg Raises 3 sets x 12-15 reps
Conditioning: Choose an exercise (ex: running, lateral slides in defensive stance, jump rope, squat thrusts) and start of with 30 seconds of work followed by 60 seconds of rest. As you get more conditioned cut down the rest time. Start of by doing this for 15 minutes.
Day 3 – Full Body Day
Dynamic Warm Up: overhead squat, leg swings, static lunges, wall slides, inchworm, scapular push ups fire hydrant circles, groiners, planks/side planks, sleeper stretch
Explosiveness, reactivity:
5-10-5 drill 5 sets
Tuck Jumps 3 sets x 10 reps
3 Step Vertical Jump 3 sets x 5 reps
Strength:
A. Deadlift Variation (trap bar, conventional, rack pull) 4 sets x 6 reps
B1. Floor Presses 3 sets x 8 reps
B2. Chin Ups 3 sets x 10 reps *
C1. Single Leg Squats (Pistols) 3 sets x 8 reps
C2. EZ Bar Tricep Extensions 3 sets x 12 reps
C3. Reverse Crunches 3 sets x 12 reps
Conditioning: Incorporate the sport of your choice and do drills with incomplete rest periods. For instance, for basketball set up two cones, start dribbling the ball from halfcourt towards the cone and do a cross over move then drive hard to the basket, jog back ton half court and repeat towards the other cone with a different cross over and then a pull up jumper. You should be going hard on the moves and then jogging or walking back to half court. Repeat this for 20 minutes. For football you could have someone throw to you while you are practicing running pass routes. Make sure you are taking incomplete breaks, as that is working on your conditioning. You can have fun with this part of the conditioning and switch it up. This is also a great way to improve skill work for your given sport.
: Very few sports are dominantly aerobic in nature. So why run on the hamster wheel for 30-60 minutes? You should include more anaerobic conditioning which is more specific to the demands of the sport that you like to play. Start including interval running, sprints, body weight circuits and agility circuits at the end of your strength training sessions or on the days following one.
Implementing these tips and exercises will have you one step closer to dominating the sport that you love to play. Don’t forget that the ingredients that needs to be in every program for it to have the best results – hard work and intensity! To make sure you have an idea how to implement the exercises and drills I will outline a sample 3 day a week program, so that you have an easier time getting started. I will give you around 8 weeks and then I expect some emails about how you dunked on someone or got the winning touchdown.
You have to be able to react quickly when you are playing most sports, which could mean changing direction, jumping consecutively to grab a rebound or avoiding a tackle that will have you take a week of sick leave to get you back to your senses. To improve reactivity you should add some lower/moderate impact plyometrics such as: Knees to chest tuck jump, reflexive ankle jumps, power skipping, 3 step jump for height, step up jumps, 4 star jump drill, rhythmic jump squat, lunge jumps. These should be done after the warm up and before you go into your strength training. These jumps will be done anywhere from 5 to 15 reps.: How fast you can go from standing still to jumping or sprinting is how explosive you are. If you want to blow by your defender with that first step then you need to incorporate some of these exercises into your training. Box Jumps, Broad Jumps, Medicine Ball Throws, 10-20 yard Sprints. The focus should be on quality and not quantity, look to start with around 5 sets of 5 reps. Do these exercises before your strength training and make sure that you do a thorough warm up before it.: Single leg training may be the most under utilized form of strength training even though most of the time we play sport we are really on one leg (running, jumping, balancing, etc.) The following exercises will work on single leg strength and also work on your posterior chain (the backside of your body), which is the real engine for sports. Reverse Lunges, Step Ups, Single Leg Squats, Single Leg Romanian Deadlifts, Lateral Lunges. Work these in after your maximal strength lower body exercise and start of by doing 8-12 reps on each leg.: One of the most useful things you can do for injury prevention is incorporating a dynamic warm up which will include foam rolling, mobility and activation drills. When you’re really tight in your ankles, hips and upper back, you’re just asking for a knee injury and some low back pain. Not only will these exercises help you stay injury free but they will also improve your performance in your training session. Squat to Stand, Leg Swings, Static Lunges, Lateral Lunges, Wall Slides, Scapular Pushups, Inchworms. You should do around 10-12 reps on each of these exercises.
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