Basketball Speed Training – Sprints, Dodges, and Dunks

by Jim Wnek

Basketball speed training relies on two main factors.

The first is lower body training, which gives you the ability to sprint. Sprinting isn’t the only thing, though, since you’re going to need endurance to be able to perform at your best when your team is behind and the game is dragging on.

The other key to victory is explosive movement. That’s the ability to move suddenly, yet precisely.

Explosive movement is vital if you’re going to prevent the ball from being stolen and move down the court. It also helps you in three point shots and any time you’re trying to control the center court.

Everyone who is interested in basketball speed training should begin with their lower body.

This will give you the extra advantage of faster acceleration speed and a higher maximum speed. One good method for this is the agility hurdle. With these hurdles, you can practice your jumping, starting from a position of one or both legs planted.

Set up a course that includes the hurdles separated by about two feet. You can make this more challenging and add balance and agility training by arranging the hurdles in a seesaw pattern. This way, you’ll have to turn sharply after each jump training exercise.

More Basketball Speed Training Details

Of course, basketball players need to be sure not to neglect their upper body. Basketball speed training should be divided into upper and lower routines, which you can practice evenly each day.

Your speed exercises will have the most impact when you work out 5-6 days a week, giving yourself breaks every three days or so. Enhance your sprinting drills by using the speed chute.

This is literally a “parachute” that attaches to your lower body and opens as you run, giving you more resistance and encouraging you to push. Use cones instead of hurdles to combine the speed chute with zigzag movement.

Basketball speed training is a must for anyone who aspires to be an outstanding member of their team.

Speed is one of the most important aspects of effective play, whether you are coordinating with your whole squat or driving down the court for a slam dunk.

If you want to get even more information, along with personalized speed drills and tips for your sport, you belong at SpeedTrainingPro.com.

We can help you achieve your highest top speed yet by guiding you through our unique running analysis program.

It helps us spot habits that could be slowing you down without you even noticing!
 

To your fastest season yet.

Jim and the Speed Zone Crew

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Speed Ladder Training – The Core of Ultimate Foot Speed

by Jim Wnek

Speed ladder training is an amazing way to build quickness, agility, and foot speed.

Soccer players in particular swear by the speed ladder as an indispensable part of their lower body workout.

Drills have been built around this thing that has catapulted teams to stardom. So, if you’re a speed training fanatic looking for some new tricks to boost your game, you can’t go wrong with the speed ladder.

Don’t worry if you’ve never used it before, or never even heard of it: by the time you finish this SpeedTrainingPro.com exclusive, you’ll be ready to incorporate it into your next workout.

Speed ladder training is also known as the “agility ladder.” It’s no ordinary step stool. With rungs set more widely apart than the home improvement ladder, it’s meant to be laid on its side and run through.

This will increase your pace, giving you greater control over your lower legs and strengthening your upper legs and hips for a higher, stronger gait. There are two great ways to warm up for the ladder. You can use a medicine ball, focusing on core and lower body exercises like the twist.

Or you can break out the jump rope and start with a moderate routine.  Either way, you’ll soon be energized to hit the ladder.

How does speed ladder training actually work?

Speed Ladder Training – Here’s How It Works

Ladder drills focus on the placement of your feet and the ability of your legs to get them there. With your ladder set up, you can focus on drills that bring one foot between each rung, two feet, lateral, or “in and out.”

Mixing up these different moves will improve your ability to move sideways, turn quickly, and even move backwards. No matter how you do it, the key is developing a challenging pattern and then reversing that pattern with each rung across your ladder.

By now, you’ve probably realized that the ladder itself isn’t the most important part of speed ladder training!

The truth is that you don’t even need a speed ladder to get started. You can use chalk or tape to outline the steps. Using a real ladder is good psychologically because you don’t have to think about it: you know if you’re in bounds or out.

Want more tips and speed secrets straight from the pros?

At SpeedTrainingPro.com, you can get started as one of our members right away.

We offer exclusive speed training content, plus a one on one running analysis to unlock the potential of your stride.

To your "Fastest" season yet

Jim
 

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Speed and Strength Training – Two Sides of the Same Coin

by Jim Wnek

There are a lot of myths out there about speed and strength training, so SpeedTrainingPro.com is pleased to offer you speed fanatics some real answers on this topic. If you want to get fast, does that mean you have to sacrifice muscle? Is bulking up going to wreck a carefully coordinated speed training plan? What […]

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Weight Training for Speed – Speed Up With Your Lower Body and Core

by Jim Wnek

Well developed muscles can support you in any kind of athletic competition. If you want to build speed, you have to work on functional exercises and weight training for speed so your lower body can help you move in top form. Having core strength is also incredibly important, since it contributes to balance and coordination. […]

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Speed Training for Football – Can You Bulk Up and Get Fast, Too?

by Jim Wnek

Not long ago, the idea of speed training for football sounded a little bit crazy. Football stars were focused on bulking up, and speed was an idea that fell by the wayside except for a few players. Nowadays, with strength training on the rise, the bulk bug is biting in many different sports. But at […]

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Speed Training Exercises – Getting Started With Speed

by Jim Wnek

Speed training exercises help you achieve endurance and finesse at higher speeds, just like it says on the tin. Unlike strength training or weight lifting, where there’s a core set of exercises you come back to again and again, speed is broken down into a number of categories. Depending on your sport, you might find […]

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Training for Speed – Is it Right for Your Sport?

by Jim Wnek

Training for speed is usually understood as the opposite of training for strength. This isn’t always the case, though, and the top trainers and coaches are starting to see a closer relation between the two. If you focus too much on strength, you’ll see a short-term decline in speed that can become long-term if you […]

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Speed Training – The Key to Better Performance in Your Sport

by Jim Wnek

What is speed training? It’s the backbone of excellence in a whole variety of sports. You can see it practiced by runners, sprinters, soccer players, and more. It incorporates the wisdom of strength training without leading you toward the extra lifting and bulk up exercises that might impede short-term performance. Plus, it helps you get […]

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Welcome to Speed Training Pro

by Jim Wnek

Hey everyone, welcome to my new site, SpeedTrainingPro.com, where I’ll be sharing with you innovative and cutting edge training for increasing Speed and Quickness, along with one-on-one coaching for athletes, coaches and trainers who want to take their speed or their athletes SPEED to the next level. If you hadn’t already, bookmark this site and […]

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