Exercising has multiple health benefits for athletes, including the maintenance of their performance and body composition. Exercise motivates them to be active and improve their game, as it helps build agility, stamina, and strength. Sportspersons should have a routine where they get out of sport and practice exercises that work out different muscle groups and improve their heart health. Some basic exercises suitable for all athletes include burpees,  pushups, squats,  deadlifts, and bench presses.

Let’s see how to perform these exercises and what benefits athletes can get out of these drills.

Best Exercises For Athletes

The following are a few basic exercises for athletes that help them maintain their performance and body composition. These workout routines build muscular strength and endurance in sportspersons and should be incorporated into routine exercise sessions.

1. Squat Jumps

It is one of the best exercises to build strength and maintain body composition. Jump squats are good for cardiac health and lower body muscles as they help athletes build glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, abs, and calves.  

How To Do Squat Jumps?

Squat Jumps are suitable for athletes with healthy knee and ankle joints. Follow these simple steps for perfect squat jumps:

  • Stand straight and open your feet at the hip distance.
  • Bend your arms and bring your hands in front of your shoulders.
  • Take a jump and straighten your arms upwards towards the ceiling.
  • Bend your arms as you land slowly on the balls of your feet.
  • Keep repeating the exercise and only bend to a comfortable extent for your hips and knees.

2. Push-ups Benefits

This exercise helps build the upper body and core muscles in the abdomen. Perform push-ups regularly to build muscular strength and endurance. Sportspersons should perform this exercise in multiple sets according to their fitness level and stamina.

How To Perform Push-ups

The following steps will make one rep of the exercise. Continue doing multiple repetitions with short breaks in between each rep.

  • Kneel while moving your feet backward.
  • Keep a high plank position with hands shoulder-width apart.
  • Keep your spine straight, keep your hands slightly inward, put your feet together, and tuck your tummy in.
  • Slowly move your body downwards as you contract the abdominal muscles.
  • Touch the floor with your chin or chest. Start moving upwards by applying pressure from your arms to get back into the starting position. 

3. Burpee Exercise

Burpees include a pushup and a jump in the air followed by that pushup. This is a very challenging but rewarding exercise as athletes who continue to practice this build strength, endurance, and cardiovascular health over time. Practitioners can burn calories, improve mental function, lower their cholesterol levels, and minimize the risk of heart disease with this dynamic exercise.

The tables represent calorie loss with one minute of continuous burpee exercise. The high intensity of this exercise will lead to more calorie loss.

Weight (in pounds)Burnt calories
12510
15512.5
18515

How To Perform Burpees

Following these steps will make one rep of burpees. You need to continue doing it for 1 minute for effective calorie loss.

  • Maintain a squat position, opening the feet at shoulder distance.
  • Lower your arms, keeping your hands between your legs.
  • Put your weight on your hands and move your legs backward to get into a pushup position.
  • After doing a pushup, jump back to the starting position.
  • Stand with your back straight and move your arms toward the ceiling. Jump in this position.

As the balls of your feet touch the ground, bend your knees to do a squat.

4. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

HIIT is a challenging cardiovascular workout that improves an athlete’s overall performance by increasing their strength and stamina. This kind of exercise is aimed at increasing the metabolic rate of the athlete, and even after two hours, he/she continues burning calories. You can do HIIT exercises with any cardio workout, for example, running, swimming, or jumping rope. 

How To Perform HIIT Workout

Follow these simple steps to perform the HIIT workout:

  • Athletes should raise their heart rates through intensified exercise.
  • After three to five minutes of intense exercise, pause for one to two minutes as a recovery period.
  • Follow up with the intensive cardio exercise.

5. Box Jumps  Workout

This particular exercise is suitable for athletes who intend to excel in athletic performance, body composition, and muscle strength. Leg strength and healthy knees are prerequisites for good box jumpers.

How To Perform Box Jumps

This exercise will include the following steps to complete one repetition.

  • Take a stance in front of a box or any other high point with your legs and hip-width apart.
  • Bend your knees and swing your hands behind you.
  • Use the power of your feet’s balls to take a leap forward.
  • Bring your arms towards the front of the box and land on the box softly at the balls of your feet.
  • Strive to have both feet on the box at the same time and get your body to bend naturally to absorb the impact from the jump.

6. Bench Press  Exercise

This exercise mainly targets the upper muscles of the body, including the Pectorals, Deltoids, biceps, triceps, and others. Bench press helps athletes build strength and enhance their body composition. 

How To Perform The Bench Press

Multiple repetitions of these steps will help you build muscles and stamina. 

  • Lie flat on your back. Have a barbell in your hands and raise them above your shoulders.
  • Take the weight in your hands and lower it to your chest, level 4 or 6 inches from your nipples.
  • Bend your elbows to a 45-degree point. Lower your elbows downwards and stop moving until your elbows are below the bench level.
  • Tighten your body and hips throughout the motion. Keep your core engaged and your back straight to ensure a proper exercise.

Conclusion

Training that involves bench presses, pushups, HIIT, squat jumps, box jumps, and pushups provides good all-around performance for an athlete. These are the top six exercises for sportspersons to maintain healthy body composition. Thus, practice these exercises in your daily life to improve your cardiovascular endurance, muscle strength, and overall athletic performance. Infinitude Fight is offering high-quality, customizable fitness gear and apparel for kids, men, and women of all ages. Explore their collection today to upgrade your wardrobe!