Lacrosse is one of the most unique sports played in the United States, combining elements of football, baseball, hockey and soccer. To excel at lacrosse and be one of the best players on the field, you’ll need a superior training regimen that focuses on the right activities: speed, explosiveness and power.
Practice Explosiveness
Like soccer and basketball, lacrosse requires short bursts of explosiveness at just the right time, so you’ll want to train accordingly. Focus on exercises that build your legs, as you’ll need those muscles to jump for passes and shots at the goal as well as to help you get down the field quickly. Standing step jumps are a great exercise to build explosiveness. These are done by standing with both feet flat on the ground in front of an elevated object, such as a wooden gym block. Jump off both feet and onto the block, landing with both feet at the same time. Jump backwards off the block and into the starting position. Repeat 10 to 15 times for best results. As you begin to develop your explosiveness, you can increase the height of the object or block.
Develop Speed
Tracking down the lacrosse ball and running for a goal takes not only endurance, but a lot of speed. Wind sprints are a great way to develop speed while teaching your body to endure short and long sprints. Suicide drills help your body learn sprints of long and short distances. The suicide drill is done by picking three or four spots to run to. Run to the closest spot, touch the ground and run back to the starting point. Run to the next farthest spot, touch the ground and return. Repeat for all the spots you have picked out, then run the entire length back to finish. Suicide drills are best done on a football field or basketball court with well-defined lines.
Build Power
Because lacrosse is a contact sport that requires you to carry the ball in a stick while other players are trying to wrestle it away from you, you’ll need a great deal of power. Your legs are conditioned for speed and agility, but you’ll want to train your upper body for strength, including weight training that will build your chest and arm muscles. Try standard weightlifting exercise like chest presses, dumbbell and barbell curls, chin-ups and push-ups to develop your chest and arms. Pay special attention to the development in your forearms, as these muscles are used to control wrist action, which is essential for handling the lacrosse stick.
About this Author
James Patterson specializes in health and wellness topics, having written and produced material for the National Institutes of Health, the President’s Cancer Panel, and an Inc. 500 Hall of Fame company. He is also a former sportswriter, with writing experience in basketball, baseball, softball, golf and other popular sports, and writes relevant sports titles.
