In order to be explosive and have a great vertical, an athlete must be able to produce a lot of force in a short amount of time. The third piece to being a great leaper is hip mobility.
Many athletes, especially basketball players have tight hips. Tight hip flexors can be bad for an athlete who wants to have an impressive vertical jump. If an athlete has tight hips that can hinder an athlete’s use of his/her glutes. The glutes are one of the most important muscles for an athlete to run fast and jump high. Additionally, if an athlete has tight hip flexors it can prevent an athlete from being able to explode into triple extension. As noted in the High Pull exercise, triple extension is what occurs when an athlete throws down a energetic dunk.
We’ve become a society that sits around all day (in school, at work, in front of the computer, watching TV, etc). Because of this, the hip flexors have a tendency to become contracted and tight, almost pulling us into an anterior pelvic tilt.
Add these two simple hip stretches into your workout routine this offseason and gain the benefits of moving better and jumping higher!
- Kneeling Lunge Stretch
- Lying Hip Rotations
Make sure the squat, the high pull and hip mobility exercises are in your workout program this offseason, Work hard and I hope to see you above the rim this basketball season!
Bryan Meagher is currently the Associate Head Coach of the 2016 Dick’s High School National Basketball Championship team Oak Hill Academy. During his coaching career he has coached numerous NBA players that have included Kevin Durant, Rajon Rondo, Brandon Jennings, Josh Smith and Ben McLemore. In Coach Meagher’s tenure, he has been a part of five high school basketball National Championships. You can follow him on Instagram for workout tips @Bmeagher22.
Micah Kurtz, MS, CSCS, RSCC*D, USAW, FMS, NASE, is in his eighth year as Director of Strength and Conditioning at AC Flora High School., which has won 14 state championships in the past five years, including the 2016 boys’ basketball state championship. He also serves as Strength and Conditioning Consultant Coach to nine-time high school basketball national champion Oak Hill Academy, which won the Dick’s High School National Basketball Tournament in 2016. Kurtz was named the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Strength Coach of the Year in 2016. He was also named the South Carolina High School Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year in both 2013 and 2014 and is part of the NSCA’s Subject Matter Expert Committee. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @KurtzM3.