Basketball is one of the most popular games, not to mention one of the highest paying. This means that there are thousands of fans and many aspiring players. One of the most sensational finishing moves in basketball is the slam dunk. It not only shows off the player’s skills but also excites the crowd.
Not all basketball players can perform this move, even though they may be excellent players otherwise. There can be many reasons for this. Wrong exercises, over-weight, lack of flexibility and stretching are few of the common reasons.
Weight
Here we will discuss some goods tips and methods to help you get closer to that basket, hold it with your hands and smash the ball in. The most obvious tip being that you should not be over-weight. Even though professional basketball players have an extensive fitness regime, one has to go that extra mile to dunk a ball. If the body is heavy, it puts more pressure on the leg muscles to propel them to a good height while jumping.
Leg Muscles
To jump higher, you need to strengthen your leg muscles, especially the hamstring. Leg raise exercises and squats are just what the doctor ordered. They will help to increase the force of your jump enabling you to reach greater heights and cover larger distances. The calves are another set of leg muscles which facilitate jumping. Calves can be made stronger with calve raise exercises on the bench or on the stairs.
Balance
While taking a leap, it is not only important that you go higher, but it is also important that you keep your balance. After all you will be having a ball in your hand. What would be the point of jumping high in the air only to fall flat on your face.
For this you need to strengthen your abs, back and hip. These are the parts of the body which will help you control your jump after the legs have done their work. Strengthening these muscles is the secret why sometimes it seems that a player jumped once and then leaped up again in mid air. What actually happens is that the basketball player is air-borne for an extended period of time with the power of his jump.
basketball