(Fatherland) – Stephen Curry’s balance and muscle memory exercises can be learned and followed at home.
Stephen Curry is the best long-throwing superstar in NBA history and is also an inspirational name around the world. Stephen Curry’s flamboyant throws are a combination of many quintessence, from throwing form, ball feel, innate genius and other factors. Therefore, to fully explain Stephen Curry’s throwing art will require hundreds of pages of detailed analysis in many fields of science and sports.
It would be relatively impossible for an amateur player to pursue a training regimen 100% similar to Stephen Curry’s. Limitations in endurance, finances, modern equipment and manpower will prevent an individual from becoming Curry 2.0 just like the original. However, learning some simple exercises from this player is worth considering and brings surprising results to those who pursue it, and can even be practiced at home.
Stephen Curry’s balance exercises
The importance of balance in throwing can be explained by a series of benefits:l such as increased success rate, increased concentration, reduced injuries, improved throwing speed and observation. The important thing is the accuracy rate of difficult throws, resulting in an and-1 ball. Stephen Curry with his unbelievable throws has built a solid monument in the hearts of fans, and his basic exercises are also relatively easy to follow.
Curry’s exercise 1: Stand on one leg, rotate the ball around your body
In the first exercise, the Warriors defender will bend one leg and rotate the ball around his abdomen, similar to a warm-up (then switch legs). This pose helps strengthen the core muscle group (including the abs, hip muscles, lower back muscles and glutes). It can be seen that Stephen Curry’s supporting leg is very stable, precisely because this player has focused his strength on the thumb, little toe and heel (3 main contact points).
Exercise 1 by Stephen Curry
Curry’s exercise 2: Stand with one leg and dribble the ball
This simple exercise requires the practitioner to stand on one leg with the other leg bent and pointing backwards. Then, similar to Curry, the practitioner will dribble the ball in a crossover motion (also known as V-shaped dribbling). To increase the difficulty of this move, players can take off their shoes, which will help increase strength at the 3 main contact points above. After resting about 15-30 seconds between sets, the practitioner should switch legs to create balance on both sides.
Exercise 2 by Stephen Curry
Curry’s exercise 3: Stand on one leg and throw the ball
This is an advanced exercise compared to the previous two. Not only must they maintain good balance, the practitioner must also balance the body’s center of gravity while performing the throwing movement. This exercise starts with standing with one leg bent, receiving the ball, performing basic movements to bring the ball up high and release the ball. Therefore, the result that the practitioner will receive is the optimization of throwing motion and balanced body posture when throwing, even supporting fade-away throwing.
Regarding the distance of the throw, the practitioner needs to choose a distance that is suitable for their hand strength. According to Under Armor experts, Stephen Curry only performs this move from the free throw line. He encourages practitioners to start from a close distance and gradually move to the free throw line. This exercise helps balance posture and throwing motion, so practitioners should not throw from too far because it will cause loss of effectiveness.
Exercise 3 by Stephen Curry
Curry’s muscle memory exercises
Muscle memory is developed over time with practice. A rehearsed throw will certainly have a higher accuracy rate than an improvised shot. This exercise is called 57 Drill, created by Stephen Curry’s personal trainer Brandon Payne.
Stephen Curry will have to shoot a basket in 7 positions on the field, including two 0-degree angles, two wings, a 90-degree angle and two positions called slots (between the 90-degree angle and the two wings). According to Curry’s practice, the Warriors defender will need to accurately throw 5 out of 7 long throws at each corner. If Curry does not complete, he will have to return to the previous position. Practitioners can simplify this method by practicing throwing in 7 similar positions, without having to achieve the exact required ratio.
After completing the long throws, the practitioner will continue with the floater-medium throw-long throw combination. From a 0-degree angle, the practitioner will perform a floater, followed by an intermediate throw and ending with a 3-point shot. If the ball goes into the basket in all 3 movements, the practicing player will move to the next point until all 7 positions are completed.
