Plyometrics are a great style of workout for any basketball player looking to improve their explosiveness, speed, and vertical jump.
What is so great about them is that they can be done with limited equipment and they can even be done in the comfort of your own home.
In this article, I will be going over the best plyometrics exercises for basketball players and how to do these drills to the best of your abilities.
Pro Tip: Most plyometrics exercises will only be effective if you have the right level or strength going into it.
Since this is an exercise to increase your power output and explosiveness, without the right level of strength then these will not be effective.
It's almost like filling up your car with gas without having an engine in it.
1. Box Jumps
How To Do It
To do you first need to find something that you can jump on. This could be any platform like a bench or even a bed if you do not have the right equipment.
After that, you then need to jump and land on this Platform.
There are also many variations you can do with this drill.
For example, you can do these off one leg, or even do these with a running or stationary approach.
2. Depth Jumps
Depth jumps are very similar to the box jump but instead of starting on the ground you will first start off on the platform and then fall down and once you land you jump back up.
You can add many variations to this as well just make sure when you are doing this you land lightly from the platform do not jump off and make the contact more than what would be necessary.
3. Max Jumps
How To Do It
To do a max jump all you have to do is jump as high as you can. This can be done when your trying to practice dunking, or just jumping as high as you can in any given space.
This drill can really help you improve on your jumping technique and get you used to jumping as a whole.
While it might seem like a simple drill it can have a lot of positive impacts on your game.
4. Rapid Fire Vertical Jump
How To Do It
This is very similar to the max jump but instead of just jumping up and landing you will actually do multiple jumps in a row maybe about 3 or 4.
Why We Do This
We do this to really teach your body to make quick and explosive movements. This type of drill will not only work on vertical but even your speed and explosiveness.
Pro Tip: With this type of workout you can either go into a full squat position on each load up for your jump or you can just pop up the minute you hit the ground, it's all up to you and each variation can still be effective.
5. Bounds
How To Do It
Bounds are an exercise where you extend one of your legs out and stride them forward almost like a one-foot hop but continuously.
I recommend when doing these to start off two legs if you are newer to plyometrics.
What is so great about bounds is that you can add this to almost any exercise and even combine this exercise with other plyometric exercises.
6. Kneeling Jumps
How To Do It
Kneeling Jumps is an exercise where you start on your knees and then jump up to land on your feet. This is a more advanced drill but if you have been doing plyometrics for a while and want a more challenging exercise then this could be for you.
You can add many variations to this as well. For example, after you land on your feet you can then go into a quick sprint, or even jump up again straight in the air.
Kneeling Jump at 0;23 Second in the video
7. Up Downs
How To Do It
Up and Downs if you do not already know are a type of conditioning exercise where you touch each basketball line and then go back to the baseline.
This is a type of sprinting plyometrics that really works on your acceleration and deceleration ability which are key factors in the game of basketball.
Even if you do not have a court you can do simple sprints and stops. Where you just sprint as hard as you can, stop, and then go in another direction.
The key is to really work on how fast you can get to top speed and how quickly you can stop once you are at full speed.
8. Sprints
How To Do It
Sprints are where you run at a given amount of distance as fast as you can.
You can also do this off a wall if you do not have enough space to do so.
This would be called wall sprints and can be done by having one arm on the wall with your back arched.
You would then sprint in one spot by moving your legs up and down.
While it might sound like a very simple drill there is almost no better drill to increase your fast-twitch muscle fibers and make you more explosive as a whole.
9. Broad Jumps
How To Do It
Broad Jumps are an exercise that can seem very similar to a bound.
In this exercise, you are going to be stationary and really loading your body to try and get as much distance as possible on your jump.
This exercise really helps you learn how to load and get more explosives off your jumps, especially for two-foot jumpers.
10. Agility ladder
How To Do It
The agility ladder is where you try to quickly put your feet inside a given surface. This can be an agility ladder, a marked box, and the floor or cement, or even your own imagination.
The key to this is focusing on the footwork that you would like to do with this.
Below is a great video talking about the agility ladder.
11. Jump Squat
How To Do It
To do a jump squat you would first get to do the same thing you would normally do in a traditional squat.
But for this exercise, you're going to want to jump and explode up as you start rising in your squat position.
Frequently Asked Questions.
Question: Can I incorporate weight into any of these plyometrics.
Answer: I would not recommend putting on weight unless you feel like you really mastered that exercise and you already have a very high power output.
But for most athletes, I would say to stick to no weights or very limited weights but try and perform this exercise faster.
Remember this type of exercise is not for strength but for speed and athletesism.
Question: Should there be different plyometrics depending on the type of jumper you are?
Answer: Yes and no I think all plyometrics can help with both one-foot and two-foot jumpers.
But you might want to try and do some of the drills with one or two feet and see how they work for you.
For example with a box jump, you could try and do that with one foot instead of two if you like jumping of one foot.
Conclusion
As you can see there are many different plyometrics you can incorporate into your workout routine.
I think any athlete looking to add and enhance their speed, jumping ability, and overall athletic ability needs plyometrics.
I hope this article helped to inform and teach you some great plyometrics exercises.
Let me know down below what your favorite plyometrics exercise is.
Thank you for reading and as always keep hooping my friends.
