8 Great Exercises For Athletes

8 Great Exercises For Athletes

Here are eight great exercises which will help elevate any athlete.

1. Bosu ball squats

We all know squats are a must for most athletes as it is a great compound movement working multiple muscle groups at the same time. Next, add in a bosu ball which will incorporate an added element of balance and coordination.  This will translate to the field making you stronger and more stable when you play.

How to Perform

1. Put a Bosu ball on the ground with the flat side up.
2. To make the exercise harder grab a set of dumbells you can manage.
3. When ready step on the bosu ball feet shoulder width apart.
4. Squat using the general rules, keeping your core engaged chest up, back straight and hips back lowering yourself to 90 degrees.

2. Bulgarian Split Squat

Lunges are great exercise for building your quads and glutes. Try elevating your back leg which will increase the difficulty of the exercise. Furthermore, this will engage more stabilizers and improve your balance.

How to Perform

1. Use a bench or a box about knee high.
2. To make the exercise more challenging add weight( you can hold dumbbells by your side).
3. Maintain one leg on the ground and lift the other onto the bench behind your body.
4. Keep your back straight and core engaged do a standard split squat.

3. Sled Push

This is a great way to build explosive power. Sled push is a great conditioning tool which is relatively low impact compared to other leg exercises.

How to Perform

1. Start with your hands on the handle of the sled and a staggered stance with your feet.
2. Drive through your legs pushing the sled
3. Keep your core engaged
4. Add wight to challenge your body accordingly

4. Thread The Needle Plank Progression

The plank is a great ab exercise as if works your abs in a functional manner. Thread the needle ads rotation to the plank making the exercise more difficult and adding in rotation which will also target your obliques.

How to Perform

1. Start in your plank position, forearms, hands and toes on the ground keeping your body level in a horizontal position.
2. Lift one arm up towards the sky slowly rotating your body to the side
3. Keep your abs tight and engaged throughout the whole exercise.

5.Battle Ropes

Battle ropes are a great way to work your muscular endurance in your upper body. The constant repetitive motion will be very challenging and help to burn fat.  There are multiple variations with battle ropes we will look at the standard alternating arms.

How to Perform

1. Start in your athletic stance, feet shoulder width apart and knees slightly bent
2. Keep your palms facing in
3. In an alternate fashion lift each arm up and down quickly creating waves with the rope

6.Farmers Carries

Farmers carries are a great way to build muscle, endurance, and strength (especially grip strength). The exercise sounds simple but you will feel muscles you didn’t you had.

How to Perform

1. The exercise is simple pickup wieght you can use dumbells, sandbags, kettlebells anything heavy you can hold
2. Pick a distance and walk carrying the weight.

7.Box Squats

Box Squats are a great way to improve explosive power in your lower body. We stay away from using the exercise as a muscular endurance exercise but as a power exercise. The focus is good form, generating force from your hips and finishing with a soft landing to protect your knees.

How to Perform

1. Stand in front of a stable box in your athletic stance
2. Load through your body pushing your hips and arms back preparing for the jump
3. Follow through by jumping on the box extending your hips
4. Focus on a soft landing
5. step off of the box

7.Pullups

Don’t neglect your back! A lot of people are great with training the front and forget about their back. In order to be an all around athlete you have to train your body all around

How to Perform

1. Grip the pull-up
2. Pull your body up until your chin is over the bar
3. Think of pulling your elbows to your back pocket

8.Step Ups

Step ups are a great way to build your leg muscles while working on coordination. Additionally, they are great for fixing muscular imbalances as you are working one leg at a time.

How to Perform

1. Start with one foot up on the bench
2. Drive through the leg on the bench in order to step onto the bench
3. Try not to lean over, or compromise your body position to step onto the bench