If you’re looking for a different type of workout, try this MMA workout for basketball. It’s a full-body routine, where many of the movements translate to basketball.
MMA training is great for basketball conditioning.
Not a lot of basketball players think about this but there are a lot of crossover movements (pun unintended) that the two activities share.
I noticed this one night when I was playing Fight Night (yes, I still play this wonderful game) and then came across a YouTube video of an MMA workout.
There’s a lot of footwork, and body and head movements from martial arts that can be applied to basketball.
For instance, pivots. In martial arts, pivots (which are used often) are used to quickly change direction. In basketball, these same movements are used in the post.
Head fakes are another great example.
If you’re not fully convinced yet, here’s a little nugget that may change your mind: The late Kobe Bryant was big on martial arts training.
Yup. Now you want to learn about it, huh?
Kobe Bryant on Martial Arts Training
Anywhoo, Kobe believed that martial arts (Jeet Kune Do, to be specific), helped him become more flexible with how he played the game.
“The one thing – among many – that I have learned from Bruce’s philosophy of Jeet Kune Do is being able to adapt,” Kobe says. “It’s about having the fundamental skills available so that you can react to any situation.”
He also relayed the same message in an interview with the Times.
Via KickSite:
“It seems Bruce Lee has nothing to do with basketball. To me, it has everything to do with basketball. There are a lot of similarities,” Bryant told the Times.
“By doing so, no one knows what you are going to do next, therefore, they don’t know how to fight back,” he said. “I’ve been working hard to infuse his principles of utility, agility, speed and efficiency to my own training.”
Okay, so these quotes from Kobe express more of a philosophical, mindset change.
But this is just an added bonus to the skills development that you’ll get from training MMA.
The MMA Workout for Basketball
So here’s a workout you can start with:
(Watch the video for the workout)
Key Notes:
- Breakdown of the workout: Warm-up, pad work, strength conditioning
- Do the workouts at your own pace, but follow the directions and instructions (complete the suggested sets and reps)
- If you’re unable to find a partner for pad work, you can substitute it with shadow boxing. You can use the Bas Rutten Boxing Workout for the punch combos instead of having someone call them out for you.
- If you don’t know the punch combos, you can learn them here.
- For the Plank Band Pulldown, you can grab a resistance band door attachment if you don’t have a partner. You can also substitute this exercise with pull-ups.
The Benefits of This MMA Workout for Basketball
The benefits of this workout are that it trains and conditions your entire body.
The warmup portion improves your mobility, flexibility, balance, and cardio, which will prevent injuries and up your footwork.
The pad work (or shadow boxing) will develop your hand-eye coordination, strength, footwork, balance and cardio.
This will help you move better on the court.
And the strength and resistance portion (which is all bodyweight) will make you stronger.
It’ll also tighten your core, which will improve your stabilization and can prevent injuries.
In addition, the entire thing will help you build stamina for basketball.
Final Thoughts
This MMA workout, which was created by MMA fighter Jung Chan-sung for hip-hop artist and dancer Jay Park (and non-fighters), is a complete body workout that is great for overall conditioning.
So, if you’re looking for a fun, new exercise circuit to do, give this one a try.
