As a basketball player, there are a lot of skills you need to train in order to be effective on the court. When you have a good vertical leap, solid coordination and balance, you’re able to play at a higher level. Many players have begun to add trampolining into their training regimen, to great results. How can jumping on a trampoline make you better at basketball? We’ve gathered some of the ways trampoline training can help you. When you want to give it a shot for yourself, come over to Rebounderz in Sunrise! We’ve got a SlamBall court for you to test your skills on and the safest trampoline park perfect for all of your training needs.

-Vertical Leap

The training method utilized to improve vertical leaping is called plyometrics, which is a fancy way of saying jump training. Though many people do box jumps for their plyometric exercise, this can be high impact and can result in a great deal of knee pain if done improperly. When you move your plyometric workout to a trampoline, you’re able to see the same benefit with less stress placed on your joints. This allows you to increase your leg strength in a safe manner. With an improved vertical leap, you’ll be able to shoot over your opponents easier, make layups with less trouble, and maybe even dunk!

When you jump, your body acts a lot like a spring. As you crouch down, you begin to store up potential energy, which is then released when you jump in the air in explosive fashion. That process is thanks to a component of your muscles and tendons called the series elastic component. Jumping on a trampoline is a great way to learn about stored potential energy, as you can see a direct correlation between your actions when you store that energy and what happens when you release it on a larger scale than you would on solid ground.

-Coordination and Balance

Having good coordination and solid balance is key to being successful in basketball. Coordination comes into play with the number of separate movements that need to be done at the same time with a great deal of control. Dribbling the ball, moving down the court, making a move around a defender and to the hoop, and finally putting it all together to take your shot all require high levels of coordination in order to be effective. Jumping on a trampoline improves your coordination by involving your entire body in the exercise. From head to toe, every body part is necessary for trampolining. This gets your body used to moving different parts of yourself at the same time for one goal.

If you’ve ever seen someone jump on a trampoline for the first time, they can look like a baby doe on ice as they try to get their balance. Once they get their bearings and start jumping, their balance begins to improve. That’s because when you jump, your arms instinctively act as a balancing agent, helping you distribute your weight across your center of gravity. As you learn this skill on the trampoline, your normal balance improves as well. It gives you a better understanding of how to control your balance in a way that translates to solid ground more than you might expect. Basketball players with a strong sense of balance are able to move around the court better, set stronger picks, and take a charging foul if necessary.

-Cardiovascular

For anyone who has even played a quarter of basketball, you know it can take a lot out of you. The consistent need to run up and down the court can be exhausting if you’re not ready for it. While running itself can be decently effective for cardio training, NASA found in a study that 10 minutes of trampolining is actually more effective than 33 minutes of running. As we discussed above, trampolining is low-impact, which reduces the amount of strain you’re placing your knees under. That means you’ll improve your cardio and endurance while avoiding serious knee injuries that can come from extensive amounts of running on hard ground.

When you improve your cardio, you’ll be able to handle long periods of exertion with less trouble. You won’t have issues with being out of breath, which can make you lose focus. Ask any athlete and we’re sure you’ll hear them talk about how important cardio and endurance are to being an effective and successful player.

-Core Muscles

Basketball requires you to use all of your muscles, but other than your legs, your core muscles are engaged the most. That’s because you’re consistently bending, crouching, and stretching those core muscles. The muscles right around your spine are working overtime to keep your balance strong as you jump and move around. The trampoline works both your back and abdominal muscles, creating a stronger, more stable core to work around. This will help your jumps be more explosive, improve your center of gravity for better balance, and provide a better sense of control over your body’s movement as a whole.

There are many other ways that trampolining can improve your basketball game, but we hope this gets you started on your new training regimen. If you would like more great information about basketball training, check out this fantastic resource from Sports Fitness Advisor to learn more. When you want to see how a trampoline can elevate your game, come to Rebounderz in Sunrise. We want to take you to new heights!