Exercise is a must for athletes. The need to be in good shape and their muscles need to be toned up. A well-exercised body is important.
The focus has been on the most effective weight training exercises for athletes and becoming more aware of exercises for athletes. One needs to approach the country’s best trainers and strength coaches to find out what is the single best exercise a ballplayer, fighter or any other sportsman for that matter can rather do to improve his performance.
More than one trainer has brought into notice that it is virtually impossible to pick one single move that does trump all others.
Table of Contents
1. One-Arm Rope Cable Row
What it hits:
Back, biceps, obliques, core
Why it is effective?:
This exercise is considered to be a perfect pulling movement for any athlete, as it does incorporate aspects of grip strength, postural stability in the athletic position as well as single limb movement. It is also an integral part of exercises for athletes.
How to do it? :
Stand up facing a cable stack with a rope attachment at chest height. The firmly fix the body with the chest and head up and one’s feet wider than shoulder-width. Start with one arm fully extended holding onto the rope and the other at your waist in the ready position. Pull the rope hard and fast in toward one’s midsection, rotating the body slightly to that side while also be able to get them back and hips into the movement. Pause with the weight at one’s top, then lower back to the start position. Do all reps with one arm, then try to switch arms.
How much to do:
3 sets, 8-10 reps per arm, 90 seconds rest between sets
2. Prowler: Sled Push
What it hits:
Quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves, chest, arms, core
Why it’s effective?:
“The Prowler automatically does place a person in an athletic stance. One needs to push it for distance or speed is great for acceleration mechanics, speed, strength and power development and overall conditioning.
Sled pushes will indeed provide an unreal lactic acid build-up. It also a sport-specific to fighters, as it simulates a double leg takedown.
How to do it?:
Sled pushes can be performed in an open space, either outdoors (ie, a parking lot) or in an indoor facility with an artificial turf field. One needs to grasp the bars of the sled (loaded with appropriate weight) near the top and then lean over at the waist so that the torso is just above parallel to the ground. Keeping the arms extended but not locked out in front of oneself, pushing the sled as fast as it is possible to do so. Drive the legs in relatively short, choppy steps. Try to push the sled for desired distance, then rest and repeat.
How much to do?:
Chambers typically has his athletes do around eight 40-yard sled pushes, where each interval is performed as a seven- to 12-second sprint.
3. Dumbbell Clean and Press
What it hits?:
Quads, glutes, hamstrings, back, shoulders, biceps
Why it is effective?:
This movement does require a person to rip the weight off the ground and then press it overhead In such a situation the person is indeed working explosive power from the legs, back, grip, shoulders, and biceps which work intensely to lift the dumbbell. The one-arm dumbbell clean and press is quite easy to learn. With athletes, time is often of the essence and in case a person wants to maximize the time in the gym, one does choose complicated movements and also lifting patterns that will minimize progress.
How to do it?:
Stand with a relatively heavy dumbbell in front of oneself on the floor, with the feet about shoulder-width apart. Bend at the knees as well as the waist to reach down and grasp the dumbbell with one hand. Keeping the chest out and the back arched slightly, try hard to pull the dumbbell straight up as high as it is possible, then drop underneath it and catch it in the so-called “clean” position (elbow pointed forward, hand and dumbbell on or rather just above the front deltoid). Then try to extend the legs to stand upright, then great force press the dumbbell overhead from the cleaned position. Carefully reverse the motion to return the dumbbell toward the floor. Subsequent reps can indeed start with either the dumbbell resting on the floor or perhaps hanging at a mid-shin level. Repeat all reps with one arm, then switch arms.
How much to do:
3-5 sets, 3-5 reps per arm, 1-2 minutes rest between sets
4. Burpees
What it hits?:
Quads, glutes, hamstrings, chest, shoulders, triceps, core
Why it’s effective?:
It does not require specialized equipment, can be performed anywhere and is a form of strength training where many major muscle groups are subjected to a resistive force that is applied making use of the person’s body weight. If done insufficient numbers (or in repeated cycles), burpees are a form of HIIT training that does place on aerobic stress on the cardio-respiratory system and also may improve muscle oxidative capacity.
How to do it?:
The burpee is a four-part movement which consists of the following phases done consecutively without pause: (1) From a standing position, bend over at the waist and then squat down until the hands are on the floor just in front of the feet; (2) kick the legs back behind oneself in order to place oneself in a push-up position (option for adding difficulty: do one or more push-ups at this point); (3) reverse the previous motion by pulling the knees in toward the midsection to return to the squatted position; (4) stand up to return to the start position (for added difficulty, jump up as high as it is possible at the top of each rep with the arms extended overhead). That is one rep.
5. Medicine Ball Toss
What it hits?:
Quads, glutes, shoulders, triceps
Why it’s effective?:
The med ball toss for height is indeed a great low body power exercise. It helps to train the all-important triple extension—where the knees, hips, and ankles all extend to propel person upward—which is essential for most speed and power sports.
How to do it?:
This exercise is best performed in an open space outdoors, where a ceiling will not impede the flight of the ball and bystanders and objects will not be struck when the ball lands. Stand holding a 10-15-pound medicine ball with both hands, the arms extended near the waist and one’s feet shoulder-width apart. Squat down slightly, allowing the trunk to lean forward and the ball to move between one’s legs, then immediately explode up by extending the knees, hips, and ankles and throw the ball as high as possible overhead. Locate the ball in the air so that it does not land on the way back down. Pick up the ball and repeat.
How much to do?:
4-5 sets, 6 reps, 2 minutes rest between sets