Hey everyone! It’s Jake with Lax Weekly and today I’m going to tell you 5 ways to train for lacrosse at home. Right now, we’re in this weird time where coronavirus has pretty much shut everything down. Lacrosse seasons are cancelled, you can’t really see anyone, so I want to help you know exactly what you can do to get better at lacrosse on your own with no equipment!
Whether you’re a beginner or advanced lacrosse player, if you follow what i’m about to tell you, I promise you that you or your son will be so ahead of every other lacrosse player right now. You can check out a video version of this article on my YouTube Channel:
1. Strength Training
The first way you can train for lacrosse is by doing strength training. This means getting stronger and more fit which will make you a better lacrosse player. I’m going to tell you exactly which exercises you need to do to get stronger.
Now most of you might think the only way to do this is by going to the gym, but you can do all the strength training you need at home. All you need is a towel or a soft surface like a carpet and you’re good.
To start, focus on training your core and ab muscles since they are the ones you use the most. Also, your core muscles recover really quickly so you can train these muscles every day. The best way to train your core is with the plank. Try to do a plank for 30 seconds and rest for 30 seconds. Do that 5 times. You can also do sit-ups or ab twists and these are both great exercises.
So an example workout could look like this: 30 second plank, then 10 sit-ups, then 20 ab twists. Rest for 30 seconds. That’s one set. Repeat as many times as possible. Maybe the first time you do this you’ll only be able to do 3 or 4 sets. Tomorrow you can aim for 5. If you do this for two weeks, you could get more than 10 I bet. So like I said, pick a few exercises and do them every day. I promise you’ll see a difference in your game.
2. Watching Film
The next way you can get better at lacrosse at home is by watching film. I feel like this is one of the most looked over parts of lacrosse and it’s easy to watch lacrosse without knowing what to look for.
So, here’s what I want you to do. First, find a full lacrosse game. There’s plenty of them on this YouTube channel or you can get an ESPN+ subscription for 5 bucks and they have so many games. So now that you’ve found a game, pick a player in the game that you’re going to watch the whole time. Now watch what they do when they have the ball and they don’t have the ball. How do they move? How do they cut? How do they hold their stick? Take notes and learn everything you can from them.
And the other way to watch film is by breaking down specific plays. Let’s say there’s a dodge you really like. Replay it over and over again. Why was the dodge so good? What did the defender do wrong? What did the offensive player do right? I have dozens of film breakdowns on my youtube channel that you can go check out, and my newsletter and Instagram have even more. By breaking down film, you’ll be able to see exactly what you need to do to replicate these moves.
3. Having Better Nutrition
The third way to get better at lacrosse at home is by dialing in your nutrition. This is everything you put in your body to fuel you, and I can almost guarantee you that you could have better nutrition than what you have right now.
People love to make nutrition some really hard and complicated thing, but in reality, it’s really simple, and all you need to know are these 3 basics:
A. Limit junk food and sweets –
This includes chips, cookies, brownies, ice cream, cheetos, all the stuff that you already know is bad for you. Sure every once in awhile these things are fine, but if you eat this type of stuff consistently, your body isn’t going to perform or recover as well. Plus you just don’t feel as good. I know I used to eat this stuff so much, but now that I have cut most of these foods out, I feel so much better.
B. Make sure you’re getting enough protein at each meal –
Protein is key to helping build muscle and keeping you strong and injury free. This is stuff like chicken, turkey, fish or eggs. Make sure you’re eating some sort of lean protein like this at every meal.
C. Eat plenty of good carbs –
Carbs are what give you fuel, but there’s better carbs than others. Whole wheat bread, brown rice, sweet potatoes – these are all goods that give you long lasting energy, where as white bread or rice won’t give you as good of energy.
4. Do Wall Ball Drills
The 4th way to get better at lacrosse is with some good ol’ fashioned wall ball. I hope that some of you have a lacrosse wall or a rebounder, (here is a link to my favorite one if you do not) because this is one of the most important parts of any lacrosse player’s game.
My challenge for you is to go do at least 200 reps of wall ball every day that you’re home. I’m going to make a whole video on wall ball soon as well, but it’s not rocket science. Just think about throwing a lacrosse ball to another person, and now just do it on a wall. 100 normal throws right 100 normal throws left every day, and your stick skills will keep getting better.
5. Practice Great Recovery
And the next way you can get better at lacrosse is by practicing good recovery. What does this mean? It means taking care of your body when you are not working out or doing wall ball or training. Here are 3 easy ways to practice recovery:
A. Sleep for 8 Hours/Day –
If you’ve been following me for awhile you know how much i value sleep. It’s not hard – just sleep 8 hours a day at least. Try to put your phone in a different room at least 30 minutes before bed, and do whatever you need to do to relax and rest
B. Drink a Gallon of Water/Day –
You should be drinking a gallon of water every day, and that can be a lot if you don’t usually drink a lot of water. Water is the source of life, it’s what we need to perform our best. Get a reusable water, fill it up and make sure you’re drinking a gallon of water.
C. Stretch out –
Flexible lacrosse players are better. It’s as simple as that. Try to do 5 minutes of stretching when you wake up and before you go to bed. It can be as simple as touching your toes, doing the butterfly stretch or whatever you need to do to be feeling your best.
If you want even more lacrosse advice and tips just like this, subscribe to the free lax weekly email newsletter and follow me @LaxWeeklyHQ on Instagram. I’m going to provide as much free stuff as I can to you!