Advanced Basketball Plyometrics

Plyometrics training has long been considered one of the best things a basketball player can do for increasing explosiveness, vertical jump and leg power. But when it comes to which plyometric are the best there is one that is King in my book.

Most basketball players are looking to increase their vertical jump in basketball. And how could you blame them. While I do feel this is important, I don't think it is the end all be all.

So many players underestimate the importance of explosiveness in the sport. This is important if you want a quick first step, you want to beat your defender out on the break and all of these types of things. So in addition to my top plyometric, I'm going to give you what I consider to be another great overall plyometric exercise for explosiveness and quickness.

Not to mention, basketball is a game of constant change of direction. Therefore lateral quickness is very important. So I'll also share with you a good plyometric for lateral quickness as well.

Rim Touches

In my opinion, one of the best plyometrics a player can do for basketball is rim touches. If you were to just do one single plyometric exercise, I'd recommend it be this one.

Rim touches are great because they increase your vertical jump. And they increase your explosiveness and help you improve at jumping quicker.

To perform rim touches, simply stand under the basket and just jump as high as you can. Explode up and on each landing explode back up alternating hands. Do this 10 times. Work on jumping as high as you can without taking a step. Rim touches are great for helping your jumping and increasing your explosiveness in basketball.

Power Slides

Lateral quickness in my opinion requires a different type of plyometrics training. It more so involves the muscles you use on defense for sliding. So one simple plyometric for improving this is power sliding.

To perform this one you simply position yourself inside the key and slide side-to-side working on quick change of directions. Touch each line on in the key and then explode the other way. You'll want to square your shoulders to the baseline or half court.

Cone Jumps

My third and final plyometric is cone jumps. Cone jumps are great for so many things. I like this exercise because you can jump forward or sideways and work on building explosiveness both ways. Plus, you can set the height as high as you want. I think the higher the better.

When training with plyometrics for basketball, you'll want to really try to work-out with maximum intensity. You get out of it what you put in. If you don't push yourself outside of your comfort zone you probably won't see very good results.

One word of caution with plyometrics. You'll want to make sure you warm-up properly before doing plyometrics. If you don't warm up properly you increase your risk to injury. Plus your muscles will perform better when they are warmed up and loose.

It is also a good idea to cool down after you finish training. Make sure you stretch after your workout, which will minimize soreness, risk to injury and to increase your flexibility.

Want to learn more advanced basketball plyometrics? Visit my website at http://VerticalJumpAnswers.com for helpful tips and information on jumping higher and increasing your vertical jump.