How to Play Basketball Blog – Get Ready to Play
When you get to the gym do you lace up your shoes and jump into a game? When you are done with your last game do you just walk out of the gym? Read this carefully: Proper warm up and cool down routines can help you prevent injuries and perform at a higher level. Do you want to get hurt? Do you want to perform at a lower level? Of course you don’t otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this right now.
Your warm up is important for all kinds of scientific reasons (read this if you want to know exactly what happens: Warming up and cooling down for exercise). Essentially it prepares your body to go from a resting state to a high performing state. You need to give your body a chance to transition so that you can perform at your highest level. So take the 10 minutes it takes to get your heart going and a little sweat on your body. Here are some exercises you can do to warm up Basketball Drills-Warm up. Otherwise you are risking injury and not playing your best.
Your cool down is also important for all kinds of scientific reasons. See the link above for a more detailed explanation. Essentially you are preparing your body to recover from the work out you just did. Your ability to recover will determine how quickly you can get your muscles ready for the next time you play. Your cool down should focus on bringing your body back to it’s resting state so make sure you are doing more static stretches here.
This is really a basic explanation but I know many of your opponents are not warming up and cooling down. If you are doing this it will give you a competitive advantage. Do you want an advantage? Of course you do, so make sure you are warming up and cooling down.
Learn about the other 2 secrets to getting in game shape by ordering a copy of the book here How to Play Basketball: A Guide to Getting Better By Playing Pick-up Games
You are your only opponent
Coach Wilkins
Coach/Owner of Hoops Education
Former D1 Player/Former AAU Coach/Former HS Coach
Author of How to Play Basketball: A Guide to Getting Better By Playing Pick-up Games
P.S. Make sure you follow us on twitter @HoopsEducation
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