Core Stability & Training Basketball (IV): Abdominal V-Up

Hi everyone!

     In third post of Core Stability & Training Basketball we talked about "basketball twists". Today we want show you two new core exercises. In this photos you can see our partners of Basketball Club Benidorm practicing the two new exercises.

1. Dribbling one-legged wall sits

How do it?

• Stand with your back against a wall, placing your feet about two feet out in front of you. Feet should be hip-distance apart.

• Bending your knees, slide your back down the wall until your knees are at 90-degree angles. Your knee joints should be over your ankle joints, so you may need to inch your feet further from the wall to create proper alignment. Your thighs should remain parallel.

• With your core engaged, extend your left leg out. Hold for 15 seconds, then lower.

• Repeat the same motion, slowly lifting your right leg. Hold for 15 seconds.

• Perform for one minute

Image 1. Dribbling one-legged wall sits

2. Abdominal V-Up

   This exercise have a high degree of difficulty and require some coordination to perform correctly.

Image 1. Abdominal V-Up without ball. CC By Tiffany Berry in Flickr

How do it?

• Sit on the floor with your knees bent toward the ceiling, feet flat on the floor and arms outstretched behind you; palms flat to the floor and fingers pointed away from you. Your weight should be evenly distributed between your feet, butt and arms. Engage your abdominals to brace your spine and support your back in a neutral or flat position. Lift the chest. Do not arch the back or slump the shoulders. Your head is an extension of your spine.

• Begin exercise by simultaneously raising your torso and legs up as you try to touch the ball to your feet and pass the ball between legs

Image 2. Abdominal V-Up

Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.
- Michael Jordan -

References: 

ACE Fitness (2015) recuperado el 15/05/2015 de http://www.acefitness.org/exercise-library-details/1/242/

Core Stability & Training Basketball (III): Basketball twistes

Good morning!

     In this post, we continue the section Core Stability & Training Basketball and we are going to talk about exercises to work the core.

    The last Tuesday we went to Benidorm to visit our partners of Basketball Club Benidorm. We ask if  they can do a exercises to work the core, Later, we wanted to know the sensations they felt in their core when they are performing a new exercise.

Image 1. Basketball twists

How to do basketball twists?

1. Start by sitting on the floor with hips and knees flexed to approximately 90 degree angles. 

2. Grasp a medicine ball or small dumbbell and swing it to the right and left as you keep the hips from rotating with the shoulders. 

3. The arms are not perpendicular to the torso, but instead, kept low, near the thighs, as the medicine ball is swung to each side.

     Now, we show you a easy but very intense exercise.

     Then, we done a little quiz about their core routine. 


-Normally, do you practice core exercises?

Well, we usually practice 2 times a week in gym.

-What exercises do you usually practice?

We usually do abdominals, bird-dog, planks, side plank, scissor crunches, superman... and now, we don't remember  more..

-Did you already know this exercise "basketball twists"?

No, we didn't know it. It's very funny and easy and later you can feel the workout.

- Would you add this exercise to your routine?

Mmmm.. yes! Why not? We are sure that we will include "basketball twists" in our core routine.

- Those who work the hardest are the last to surrender -

Rick Pitino

Core Stability & Basketball Training (II): Push up

Good afternoon!

     In last post we talked about the core and importance of working the muscles of the trunk. Now, we want to show you differents exercises that you can practise and work your core. 

PUSH-UP

     Today we show you a exercise forimprove your core in basketball, this exercise is called push-up.

Teaching points

• Kneel on all fours with the hands a little wider than width shoulders
• Straighten your legs out behind you so that your weight is distributed between your hands and toes
• Bend the elbows outwards to lower the chest towards the floor
• Push back up to the starting position

Variations & progressions

• To make the exercise easier, maintain the all fours kneeling position
• Push your hips forwards so that the weight is on the hands
• Bend the elbows outwards to lower the chest towards the floor

Muscles worked

• Pectoralis major
• Triceps brachii
• Anterior fibres of deltoid
• Serratus anterior

     In this video you can see a differents alternatives to do a push- up. We hope you found it interesting.





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Thank you!





References:

James A. Gels, (2015), Basketball Core Strengthening Drills from Alan Stein recuperado el 11 de 05 de 2015 de http://www.coachesclipboard.net/AlanSteinCoreDrills.html#content

Core Stability & Basketball Training (I): What is the core?

Hi everyone! 

     Today we open a new section "Core Stability & Basketball Training". In this section you can found a exercises to work your core. 

     Now, we are going to explain... What is the core?

     The core is all the stabilizing muscles of the trunk, which are responsible for maintaining posture and balance of the column to shocks arising from changes.

Image 1.  Muscles of the trunk.

     These muscles to which we refer to as stabilizers are: abdominal (rectus and oblique), buttocks, for our spinal and hip.

     The core is a very important part in basketball, if we had to choose us the most important muscles for a basketball player, would be these. Specific gestures require players to make physical contact against and situations in which instability occurs.

     In basketball, instability is present in all specific movements such as pivot (especially in the pivot foot), accelerations and decelerations, changes of direction, insights, blocking the rebound, dribbling, recovery of defensive position, jumps on the rebound on offense and defense ...

     These actions are often performed in a very limited space and require very fast movement, high capacity coordination, adequate strength and especially a good balanced postural control to achieve them, or be exposed to an error in this action and successive.

      This muslces are vital for performance in their movements. We need to have a high core strength that allows us to stabilize the lumbar spine (where our center of gravity is located), when performing movements of the trunk. It has been shown that the strength of the core is related to the technical performance and athletic gestures.

Image 2. Man is doing the plank with instability

     The core serves as a stabilizer of the movements and contributes force production that makes the upper body (shoots, passes, blocks, rebounds...)





Do you have any question? Tell us!

In next post... we will publicate a exercises to work core ;) Pay attention!



References:

• Schilling J. 2012.”The Role of the Anatomical Core in Athletic Movements”. Injury prevention and performance enhancement. University of Southern Maine
• Boccolini G., Brazzit A., Bonfanti L. (2013). “Using balance training to improve the performance of youth basketball players. Sport Sci Health