Pro Tip: Resistance Series, Pt. 3: Developing Power with Pushes

By Jay Ramos

With the development of important muscles like our hip flexors and overall quadriceps, we need to make sure the push we get from our hamstrings is optimal to encourage the utmost explosion.

Just beneath your glutes are the hamstrings, which are made up of three muscles. I already have mentioned avoiding machines that can harm your athletic potential, so let’s look at a very functional movement that can get your hamstrings ready to power forward and complement the quad and hip flexor work we did here and here.

The Weighted Sled Push

Look fun? That’s because it’s one of the most demanding explosion workouts in the arsenal. It certainly takes a toll on the legs, but your shoulders and core get some pop out of this too. It also promotes FUNCTIONAL strength, not artificial strength, because running mechanics are emphasized in a challenged environment. This is how the human body was meant to move, not seated on a machine.

Don’t have access to a sled? Be creative and try these plate pushes:

You don’t need the actual sled to create this workout.

Want a basketball specific variation? Grab a basketball, have a workout partner put his hands on your shoulder and resist you on the run.  This is the partner dribble push. The partner should leave enough of a window for you to run hard while still giving you enough leeway to get full drive and keep your mechanics right.

Instructions:

Sled Push

– Keep your back straight and maintain a straight line from your head through your legs. You should not round your back.
– Keep your arms stable at roughly a 45 degree angle. Do not push through with your arms on the drill.
– Begin slow and find a rhythm.
– Start with five repetitions of 50 feet. Rest time should not be more than 30-45 seconds. Move onto five repetitions of 75 feet in two weeks, and eventually 100 feet as long as your stamina can keep the intensity through the entire drill.

Plate Push

– The same mechanical instructions apply from the sled push. Drive the knees and keep the arms stable. Keep your back straight.

Partner Dribble Push

– Since you have a basketball and no arm stabilizers are involved, the dribbling of the basketball actually becomes a very taxing exercise in a different way.
– We don’t want you slowing down or arching your back here. If it’s too difficult, tell your partner to ease up. You should be going through with proper running mechanics to get the most of the drill.

Now go get to work.

Jay Ramos is a professional basketball trainer and performance enhancement specialist with Next Level Basketball. He is currently constructing a basketball athleticism program called ‘Speed, Agility, and Quickness’ that will be out in early 2015. Check out the preview at NLBTraining.com.