Pilates is so beneficial for many sports, but in particularly it can really help you strengthen your basketball game both on and off season. Pilates works your body from the inside, out. It lengthens and strengthens muscles you may not have even realized existed. It makes you stronger and leaner. Pilates also builds a very strong mind/body connection. This helps you literally brace yourself and stabilize when twisting, turning, jumping, lifting, etc. All of these sports-specific moves are key in improving your game. Other agility moves where Pilates can help is shuffling from side to side, pivoting, sprinting and stopping on a dime! Pilates helps strengthen your back so you’re less prone to injury when doing all of the maneuvers required for your sport. Not only will you be more physically prepared for basketball, but you will strengthen your mental focus as well. Below are some Pilates exercises using a basketball as a prop which were developed by my Pilates Mentor, Bernadette Giorgi (www.justbmethod.com).
Bridges with Feet on Basketball
Lie on your back and anchor your palms and shoulder blades into the mat. Bend your knees, aligning them with your hips, and bring your feet on top of the basketball. While maintaining neutral spine, inhale and engage your glutes as you lift up through the heels. Use your glutes and abs together, as you lengthen your tailbone toward the back of your knees. Exhale as you roll back down to the ground, articulating the spine to the mat as your upper back, mid back, low back, and finally tailbone comes back to the mat. Repeat six to ten times.
Roll Downs with Basketball
Sit on floor in an upright position with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Bring your arms out in front of you holding the basketball. Inhale to prepare, then exhale and pull your navel in toward your spine. Work to round your spine into the letter “C” again keeping your gaze towards your navel. Inhale to prepare, than exhale engaging your abdominals and bringing yourself back up to your staring position. Repeat six to ten times.
Roll-Ups with Basketball
Lie on your back with your legs straight and stretch your arms overhead, holding the basketball. Squeeze your adductors (inner thighs) in tightly and flex your feet. Bring your arms overhead with the ball just over your shoulders and then down towards your chest. When the ball gets to chest level begin to inhale as lift your head up and forward. The roll-up happens in this particular cadence: lift your chin to chest, lift your chest to ribs, curve as you lift your ribs over your stomach, than reach your stomach over your hips and over your thighs. Exhale as you stretch forward from your hips, while pulling your navel toward your spine. Inhale prepare, pull the navel in even further and reverse the movement as you articulate that spine back down, one vertebrae at a time.
Pilates Plank Push-up with Basketball
Stand up straight with your feet together and parallel. Make sure you’re in neutral alignment with your abdominals and pelvic floor muscles engaged. Inhale to prepare, then exhale and roll forward, lowering down one vertebrae at a time. Your hands should slowly slide down the front of your thighs until they reach the floor. You can bend your knees if you need to. Inhale and walk your hands out along the floor or mat to a plank position, placing one hand on the basketball. Leading with your chest, lower yourself to the ground, then push yourself back up until your arms are straight. Switch to the other side with the hand on the ball and do another push-up. Remove the hand from the ball and walk your hands back towards your feet, then exhale and come back to the starting position. It is fine, if you need to come to your knees to perform the push-up.
Joanne Sgro is a Television Fitness Expert, Certified Personal Trainer and Sport Nutritionist. She is Certified in Pilates, Pre-natal/Post-Partum, Yoga and Senior Fitness. She specializes in Weight Loss, Post-Rehab and Post Cancer Training. Joanne's fitness plans and recipes are available globally on her website www.fitnessanswer.com. She resides in the Phoenix, AZ, where she runs her personal training business, Fitness Answer, LLC.