Best Workouts for Lacrosse Players
Lacrosse is one of the toughest sports to master. Not only do you need perfect aim and precision, but you need to be quick on your feet, agile, powerful, and flexible. Your training routine needs to be comprehensive from the ground up.
From changing hands with the stick, rotating, weaving through opponents, and running up and down the field, there is a lot at play within just a single game. Learn some of the best exercises to boost your performance with ease.
What Should Lacrosse Players Focus on When Training?
Lacrosse players don’t need to focus on becoming super big and bulky in the same way as football players. In this sport, it’s more beneficial to have muscular endurance over muscular strength. This is because there might be times when you need to be putting in all-out energy for long periods of time without a break.
Additionally, speed is essential for lacrosse players, not only when it comes to running but also passing and shooting the ball. You also need to be mobile and flexible while working on dynamic trunk control or stability.
That’s a lot to try to tackle within a training session. But some of these factors can be addressed within one single exercise. Here are some of the best exercises for lacrosse players to focus on.
1. Muscular Endurance Exercises
When it comes to addressing muscular endurance, the goal is to sustain lighter weights for a longer amount of reps. You generally want to try to hit about 15-20 repetitions within a given set to improve muscular endurance.
Dumbbell Snatch
A dumbbell snatch is a quintessential power movement that not only builds muscle in the legs and shoulders but it also helps you improve speed and power. This exercise is especially helpful for overhead movements like shooting or passing.
With a dumbbell snatch, you want to think about zipping up a jacket, keeping the dumbbell close to the center of your body as you hinge the hips back and thrust it up overhead. You can go a little bit heavier here as opposed to a traditional shoulder press since you’re using your leg drive primarily.
With that said, remember that the goal is to hit around 15-20 reps within this move. You can always do a drop set by lowering the weight halfway through the move if you can’t lift the heavy one anymore.
Reverse Wood Chops
Reverse wood chops mimic the movement pattern of swinging a lacrosse stick from below to shoot into the goal. Many lacrosse injuries occur during shooting or passing due to weak spinal and oblique muscles that cause damage to the joints during vigorous rotations.
Reverse wood chops will have you holding a dumbbell down at your waist and pivoting the back leg to bring the dumbbell up over the opposite shoulder like you’re swinging an ax upward. Regular wood chops reverse that movement, and these can benefit by mirroring the movement pattern of swinging downward during a game. It also strengthens the obliques and the erector spinae of the spine.
Weighted Step Up
This is a unilateral exercise that can address weaknesses in one leg over the other. It also improves quad strength, which can help you run faster. Plus, if you put a barbell on your back, this move requires loads of core and trunk stability for an effective lacrosse exercise.
You want a bench or a box around 18 to 22 inches off the ground to make the most of this move. Be sure to use slow, controlled movements for the best effect.
2. Speed Exercises
Developing speed as a lacrosse player is mainly focused on increasing cardiovascular power and endurance. There are plenty of exercises to help improve your speed.
Sprints
Sprints are a classic movement, and since you’ll be running on the field often, you might as well put in the work off the field too. Doing sprints at proper intervals can help you get faster and allow you to run for longer periods of time without becoming fatigued.
We recommend doing sprints on a treadmill. Hit your all-out speed for 10 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of rest. Then, increase the working period by 5 seconds but keep the rest period the same until you hit 30 seconds of work, followed by 10 seconds of rest. After that, climb back down the ladder until you reach the 10 by 10 interval you started with.
Over time, increase your speed as you start to get better. This will teach your body to recover more quickly so you can get back into the action with ease if you’re in the middle of a game.
Medicine Ball Slams
Ball slams can increase muscular endurance and power while also helping you get some speed practice. Reach that medicine ball overhead, hinge at the hips, and slam it down to the ground as hard as possible. You can even incorporate a jump into the mix to make this a jump slam, increasing aerobic capacity.
Side Shuffles
Movement on a lacrosse field isn’t always forward and back – sometimes, you’ll be moving side to side. Practice this by doing side shuffles, staying as low to the ground as possible to enhance quad strength.
Side shuffles can increase lateral speed as you do them more often. This will make you better at avoiding offensive and defensive positions on the field to make it easier for you to get closer to the goal.
3. Mobility and Stability Exercises
Mobility is the ability to move freely and easily, whereas stability is the ability to maintain equilibrium and support during movement. They’re both essential for a lacrosse player in shooting and passing, as the velocity of motion can throw you off balance if you don’t have proper postural strength to prepare.
Quarter Rep Pull-Ups
Pull-ups are either loved or hated, but the reality is that they are one of the best muscles for improving lat strength in the back. You can do pull-ups with any grip, but the wider the grip, the more tension you place on your lats.
This move improves lat and shoulder stability by making those muscles stronger. It’s important for the upper body to be stable and strong to have more accurate shooting and passing abilities.
The reason you want to do quarter-rep pull-ups is that it puts the working muscles under tension for more time. But you don’t need to change your workout to accomplish the same thing.
Speede uses AI technology to adjust the resistance based on your body’s natural strength curve. It means that your muscles will be working at their maximum capacity at every given portion of the rep. You can do lat pulldowns at the perfect resistance every time, allowing you to get better at pull-ups and stronger overall.
Book a demo today and see how Speede can help you build strength faster.
Back Squat and Pause
Squats are one of the best moves for improving quad, glute, and hip strength – all essential for lacrosse players. A back squat is specifically great for lacrosse players because it also works to improve core and postural strength, which will enhance performance on the field.
Do this movement slowly and hold at the bottom for one count before pressing back up. This will help with dynamic trunk control and improve stability and mobility when passing, shooting, and weaving through the opposing team.
In Conclusion
Lacrosse is a vigorous, fast-paced sport that requires work from the full body. And while you might not need huge muscles, you need to be able to keep moving for long periods of time. You also need to be stable, mobile, and quick.
Focusing on muscular endurance, as well as speed, mobility, and stability, are some of the most important pillars to address when training for your season. But sometimes, it’s less about the workout themselves and more about the equipment you’re using.
Get ready for the season in less time than ever with Speede, an adaptable piece of technology that adjusts to your body’s strength curve. With four different modes, you’ll never need to buy a gym membership again.
Book a demo today and let’s talk about how Speede can supercharge your lacrosse training.
Sources:
Muscular Strength and Endurance | HealthLink BC.
Mobility and Stability: Joint Functions When We Move | NASM.
