Detailed Hooper
- Jun 22, 2021
- 11 min read

Best Basketball Workouts For Basketball Players At Home

As we all know sometimes as hoopers we do not get the proper access to gyms that we might need to really succeed and improve as a basketball player. As a basketball player your home workout should focus on basketball specific strength, mobility, agility, and explosive movements.

In this article I will be breaking down great exercises you should do for home workouts and workouts you can do with no equipment and examples of a home workout routine that I would give to players looking to improve in the comfort of there own home.

1. Pylometrics

If you do not already known plyometrics are basically exercises where an athlete performs quick explosive movements like jumps, or even sprints.

This is a great staple to your home workouts that can be done anywhere in your home.

Benefits: Plyometrics are great for basketball players, as they allow you to develop and enhance your explosive abilities, get you into great basketball shape, while also toning and developing the muscles that are required in order to be effective on the court.

Notes and Rules For pylometrics in basketball

In order to really get the full effect of pylometrics in basketball you need to make sure that you take time in between sets for plyometrics. At least 1-2 minutes.

a reason for this is because when training in plyometrics you are trying to enhance your explosie abilites and develop more fast twitch fibers.So in order to develop those effectively you need high intensity, paired along with high rest.

If you do not already known fast twitch fibers are the muscles types responsible for those explosive movements like jumping and sprinting. An athlete with a higher vertical, almost always has more developed fast twitched muscle fibers, than an athlete or player with a shorter vertical.

Think about it like this, marathon athletes train there endurance by going for long distance with very little rest, sprinters on the other hand train by going very short distances in a very short amount of time. low intensity, little rest ,develops your slower twitch fibers, while high intensity, lots of rest develops your fast twitch fibers.

Plymoetrics workouts For Athletes At Home

1. Box Jumps

Box jumps are an excellent workout for basketball players especially at home. Important to note that even if you do not have a box you can use your bed, or virtually any platform that is sturdy enough for you to jump on.

You can even if you like use some form of resistance with this like a medicine ball, or a band to add extra resistance. Like I said I reccomend low reps at high intesity with added rest. So that could look something like a 5x5 set or even a 3x5 if need be.

2. Max Jumps

This is as simple as it sounds, basically this consists of jumping as high as you can.

Even though it is very simple, it is still a very effective exercise.

I recommend players to have a point to aim at and see the kind of progress they make week by week or month by month.

This is great to do at home because virtually you can do it in any area with enough space for you to do your max jump. Mix it up by doing 1 foot jumps, two foot jumps, and your standing jump.

Another fun thing you can do is trying to dunk the basketball, this can go into your max jump portion of your at home workout. If you cannot dunk try using a tennis or volleyball, and just seeing how high you can get.

3. Sprints

While again it is simple this is one of the best things, an athlete can do to increase and strength there fast twitch fibers, while also requiring no gym equipment and can be done anywhere.

For basic sprints if you can get a space and run as fast as you can for whatever distance you like. Do not worry if this is a short distance either as a basketball court is not that long of a distance especially for a sprint.

If your short on space or stuck inside, you can use a variation of a sprint that you can use in the comfort of your own room or any space.

Which is called the Wall Sprint, a wal sprint is just as it sounds keep your body at a 45 degree angle and with one arm on the wall move your feet as fast as you can and simulate a sprint, I recommend only doing this for 5-10 seconds.

See the video below to get a better idea of this drill

4. Depth Jumps

A depth jump is a exercise where you jump off a surface and then immediate explode up. For this workout if you are new to plyometrics I recommend to do this in very short intervals, and monitor how you joints and knees feel while doing this.

Again with this workout if you do not have the proper equipment at your house, using your bed you can be in a sitting position and go right into your jump.

This would be known as more of a drop jump but it is still effective exercise especially for your reaction time and vertical jump

Just be creative and have fun in the process. This is an excellent workout for basketball players and can be done comfortably in your own home.

5. Bounds

Bounds are anytime of running with an emphasis on elongating your strides. For basketball players you should do this both laterally and horizontally for the full effect. Even if you only have a room to workout in you can do this off of one leg or two legs and just go back and forth.

In this video he is doing it with a band, but if you do not have one that is okay it is still effective.

Like I said you can do this off two legs as well, this would be more of a two foot jump but that is still an excellent workout

Below is another video explaining the importance of lateral plyometrics when it comes to your vertical jump and explosiveness for basketball players.

Even if you do not have all the equipment having lateral bounds in your workout as you see is an excellent way to improve your vertical in basketball especially at home for your workouts.

2. Lower Body Strength

Even though there is benefits in squats and other lower body workouts that require big gym equipment, there are benefits and great workouts you can do to strengthen your legs even at home.

Excersies For Lower Body Workouts At Home

1. Wall Sits

Wall sits are exactly as they sound. A big type all athletes should remember in this position is too know what you are training for.

Like I said the more time you are in this position the more you are training for you endurance. But the higher intensity with less time you are training for strength.

Both can be great for basketball especially for being in a good defensive stance. To make it harder if need be trying adding some weight, even at home putting something heavy on your legs while doing this is an excellent way to bring up the intensity and train for your strength if that is your goal.

You can also do any other variant that is very similar to a wall sit which is basically a seated squatting position. where you sit in a squat position and put your arms out, this is great for training your muscles to be in a defensive stance and staying low on the court, especially for taller players who struggle staying low.

2. Calf Raises

While calf raises have been shown, not to be as effective for improving your vertical as most once thought, it is still an effective workout and can benefit your vertical leap in the long run.

With a calf raise you can either do this on two feet or one leg on a wall or some type of platform. Again to add weight and intensity you can hold onto something heavy, just make sure to get the same amount of reps on both sides so you develop those muscles evenly.

Again this is excellent to do at home since you do not need much equipment and can still get a great workout in for a basketball player.

3. Lunges

Lunges are great for basketball players as it can open up your hip flexors while really strengthening your legs, and the muscles required to be a good basketball player.

With lunges it is important to do it in all directions and really do it with good technique and form. Again you can add in jumping lunges to make the intensity higher while also incorporating plyometrics in the process.

If you cannot do jumping lunges at first, doing regular lunges should be able to work up your muscles to performing the workout more effectively.

Check out the video below to see the variances and ways to perform lunges effectively for basketball players.

4. Hip Thrusters

Hip thrusters are great for basketball players, as this is a workout that targets the hamstrings, and can even strengthen the sides of your glutes. Hamstrings are important for basketball players as this is a muscle responsible for getting greater strides, and can hep to increase your speed and vertical jump.

To do a Hip Thruster lie on your back on the floor with your legs resting up on a surface, next you need extend you legs up and rise them into the air. Focus on flexing your hamstrings and do it slowly, to really feel that stretch in your hamstrings. Add weight if it gets to easy or some type of resistance band.

As you can see this is a great workout at home since it requires no equipment, you can also put your legs on the bench and your back on the floor if that is easier for you.

5. Towel Deadlifts

Yes as weird as it sounds you can do deadlifts even at home with no equipment, this is a great workout for improving your posterior chain, deadlifts have also been shown to help improve your vertical jump.

Check out the video below to see how to do a dead lift at home.

3. Upper Body Workouts At Home

1. Push Ups

A push up is a great staple for any workout at home. There are many variances you can use to work different parts of your body.

For example keeping your hands closer together will work more of your triceps and shoulders, while keeping them father apart will work your biceps and shoulders.

This video shows great basketball variances in the push up, that you can use in the comfort of your own home.

2. Dips

Dips are great for basketball players looking to improve there triceps. Triceps can be an excellent muscle for basketball players since it is a big muscle involved in the pushing motion required to get the ball to the basket, especially for two motion shooters.

To perform a dip get in a seated position with your hands on a stool or bed frame, afterwards slowly dip your arms to rise up. If you struggle doing this at first you can start with a lower platform. But this can be done anywhere and can be a great tool for basketball players looking to workout at home.

3. Planks

It is important to understand with any ab workout in basketball you want a exercise that learns to stabilize your core. A more stabilized core can do wonders for a basketball players, like reducing injury, and making you a more explosive better athlete by making sure all the moving parts are in the right place for successful movements and agility.

To perform a plank get on your hands and toes with your body facing parallel to the ground, focus on engaging your core and keeping a straight from throughout.

4. Side Plank

Similar to the plank a side plank is where you go to the side on one of your arms and put your focus on one side of the body, this is great because it focuses on your obliques.

With anything though you can alternate in between sets to really focus on keep your muscles consistently guessing and getting a better workout in.

4. Mobility/Flexibility

There is this myth in basketball, that flexibility and mobility are similar things, when in fact mobility is much more important when it comes to your overall ability as an athlete. So for in home workouts it is important to include these in your workouts, as you can do this anywhere without gym equipment.

For those who do not know mobility is defined as your range of motion with a joint, where as flexibility is a muscles ability to lengthen overtime. The myth that flexibility has anything to do with athletic ability might not be totally accurate.

as some of the best jumpers in the world are surprising not that flexible, I am not saying that flexibility has no place in a workout, it just might not be as important as we might of thought.

For a great video explaining this key difference check out the video below

For mobility there should be an emphasis on hips for all athletes as this has been shown to open up the right components especially for your vertical jump for a great mobility workout for your hips check out the video below.

Shoulders, for shoulders with mobility, a great thing you can do if your feeling soar or just took a bunch of shots, is to do a circular motion with your arms, although this might seem simple, I have had great benefits from it and it can really help me recover quicker.

Flexibility- For flexibility although it might not be the most effective thing in the world for basketball players, it still can do some benefits for your health, and can be a great relaxer for any player looking to cool off after a hard workout.

Note: For players really looking to recover and feel great after a home workout, taking a cold shower or bath can help you recover quicker and feel better after a great home workout.

5. Cardio/ and agility

With cardio it can be tough in basketball, since in basketball you need to improve your fast twitch muscle fibers while also increasing your slow twitch fibers and being able to move effectively as well in the 4th quarter as well as the first quarter.

So it is important when doing cardio workouts to include both fast twitch fibers as well as your slow twitch.

So great workouts for basketball players looking to improve your cardio is something called H.I.I.T training, which is bsically training that includes, fast quick movements, followed by less intesne training at a slower pace.

So many players make this more complicated than it has to be when in reality, all it involves is doing something like a sprint or plyometric, followed by a light jog or a lighter intense workout.

Check out the video below to see a great H.I.I.T workout for basketball players that only requires a basketball and a small amount of space.

1. Jump Rope

Jump rope is a simple exercise any hooper can do at home, this can be great for cardio, and help your foot speed and footwork. To mix in more high intensity you can do this quicker, or try and get more jump elevation on your jumps.

2. Agility Ladder

What is so great about an agility ladder is you can make it easily at home, and if you do not have the proper equipment to make it you can use your imagination and use simple footwork to work on your agility for basketball.

Check out the video below for great agility ladder work that any basketball player can do with just a little bit of space and time.