Basketball players,
Your strength training should be a top priority for both injury prevention and maximizing performance. However, how many players do their strength training doesn’t accomplish either goal.
A few weeks back I brought up the first of four big mistakes I see basketball players make when doing their strength training. You can check out the full article here.
Today, I am diving into the second big mistake I see, and it all has to do with control.
MISTAKE #2: NOT CONTROLLING WHAT YOU WANT TO STAY STILL
When you do any exercise, there are always going to be parts of your body that are moving and parts that are staying still; however, most people don’t define what those are with every exercise they do.
And, if they do define what they are, they aren’t strict with controlling them throughout the entire set.
Let’s take a squat, for example.
When you squat, your hips, knees, and ankles will be the joints that are moving. Your shins, thighs, and trunk will be the segments that are moving.
Your spine, shoulders and neck should not be moving.
If your non-moving parts start to move, that can lead to an increased chance of injury, as well as make the exercise less specific, ultimately decreasing the results you get from doing it. This is what often happens when people start to fatigue while doing an exercise. They start off the set controlling each part of their body, but then as they get tired, they start to let their non-moving parts move.
So how do you combat this?
The easiest way is to make a shift in your mind about the exercise overall.
Instead of thinking the point of doing the exercise is to lift the weight, shift your mindset to understand the point of doing the exercise is to challenge your muscles.
If you start moving parts of your body that aren’t supposed to be moving in order to lift the weight, you are inherently making the exercise less challenging for your muscles. Not only does this negate the entire point of doing the exercise in the first place, it will ultimately decrease the results you want to get from the exercise.
However, if you keep your focus on really trying to make the exercise challenging for your muscles while you do it and not try to get out of the challenge by moving other areas of your body, you will stay safer while you do your strength training and the results you get will be better, as well.
Charlie
Charlie Cates is the leading consultant to high-level professional, college, and high school basketball players in the Chicagoland area for injury prevention, recovery, and muscle performance.
As one of Chicago’s most sought-after Muscle Activation Techniques® practitioners, he is certified in the highest levels of MAT®, including MATRx, MATRx Stim, and MAT® Athlete.
A former college basketball player, he uses his personal experience and understanding of the game and player demands to create customized exercise options for his clients to recover faster and perform their best.
He sees clients in-studio at Muscle Activation Schaumburg as well as in-home.
You can schedule your MAT® assessment with him by clicking here, and be sure to follow him on Instagram at @CharlieCates!
