Warming Up When you play basketball it is very easy to injure your feet, ankles, legs, and arms. That is why it is very important to do a full body workout before you play basketball and practice your skills. When you warm-up it helps your body to get ready and it also helps prevent injuries (like stretching or pulling a muscle) during a game or a practice. I always start my warm up by running three laps around the gymnasium. The first one I jog, the second one I run, and the last one I sprint. Now if you get really tired where you can't hardly breathe before three laps you probably need to stop. But if you are just tired you need to push yourself to at least three laps to get your endurance up. After I run my three laps I do some exercises like these. Ankle Stretch- Sit on the court and bend one leg so that you grab your foot. Leg Lunges- Stand with your feet far apart. Bend one knee and lunge to the side to stretch the inside of your leg. Hold it for five complete seconds. Neck Stretch- move your head from side to side for five minutes. Leg Crossovers- cross your legs and bend over for one minute. Then switch and do it over. Arm Circles- Swing your arms in large circle for twenty seconds. Then slowly, make small circles until you can't make any more circles then do it again. History | Basketball and Me |