Why Resistance Bands Are Perfect Strength Training Tools for Women’s Basketball Teams

Resistance bands can be the best friend of the coach of a women’s basketball team. Why? They’re portable (so you can take them with the team on road trips), affordable, and most of all, adaptable enough to address the specific needs of each player.

With resistance bands, your team can train anywhere there is court space–which of course makes the court an option. So if the weight room is full, or if you want to tack on a short resistance workout to the end of a practice, your team can perform band work without having to leave the court. You can even use band exercises as a change of pace to help keep practices fresh, so players get a better balance of skill training, game planning and strength training.

Forty-one inch, continuously looped resistances bands come in a variety of tensions, so they can adapt to every body type, from your 5’4” point guard to your 6'2" center. Plus, resistance bands have a short learning curve—athletes tend to get the hang of them pretty quickly.

Here are 10 single-band exercises that can easily be performed on the court as a 10-station circuit or as individual exercises.

1. Squat Press
2. Split-Squat Right and Left
3. Seated Row
4. Overhead Tricep Extension
5. Front Squat
6. Hammer Curl
7. Resisted Pillar
8. Deadlift
9. Military Press
10. Reverse Lunge Right and Left

View this instructional video to see resistance band exercises in action; and check out STACK's Women's Basketball page for exercises used by Candace Parker and other top women hoopsters.

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