Athletes want to be faster, more agile, more flexible, less prone to injury, and ultimately have a performance advantage over their opponent. One aspect of training that I think is often overlooked is the warm-up routine. As a young athlete, I remember my coach forcing us to do what I then thought was an obscene amount of warm-ups. I now see the value of these exercises that I could not see when I was a young athlete.
By following a brief warm-up exercise routine, you will improve your ability to outperform the competition. You can be faster and stronger with these few exercises. The warm-up routine I’ll recommend will allow your muscles to actively warm up and stretch, sometimes called a dynamic warm-up, dynamic stretching, or, if used as an exercise instead of a warm-up, a blast. While stretching the muscle well, it also increases speed, flexibility, agility, and explosive strength.
Most track athletes are used to this type of workout and warm-up routine. As a basketball player, you have more demands to be agile. Must be able to quickly change direction, turn and stop. A track athlete is more concerned with reaching top speed as quickly as possible.
Here is my recommended basketball warm-up routine. Start with a light jog for 10 minutes. I recommend running a slow mile to warm up your muscles and cardiovascular system. This should be done in warm-up clothes, a jacket and pants that are good for playing basketball. After this brief warm-up, you should go through your normal static stretching routine while wearing this same warm-up outfit to keep your muscles warm. Keep each muscle stretched for 30 seconds to achieve an optimal stretch. Now we can begin the active stretching and ballistic warm-up regiment.
Each of these dynamic drills should be performed from one foul line to the opposite foul line and then back to the starting position. This entire routine should take less than 10 minutes.
Kicks to the glutes: Kick your heels as fast as you can while moving forward at a slow pace. This is a great quad stretch.
High Knees – Raise your knees as high and fast as you can while slowly moving forward.
Gazelles: This is one of my favorites, you jump as high as you can and while in the air keep your thigh parallel to the ground. You should feel like you are a leaping gazelle.
Jump: This is like jumping rope without a rope, the forward progression should be slow and controlled.
High kick walk: As you walk forward, bring your knee up to your chest, then kick your leg out, pointing your toes toward the ceiling. This is a great hamstring stretch.
Ken/Barbie Doll Running: With his knees locked, he runs across the court. The race is performed by moving only the hip and ankle joints.
It is important to remember that these warm-ups must be done with purpose and with good technique. After doing this warm-up routine, you should feel a bit sweaty and more agile. If you consistently perform these simple exercises, you should become faster, more agile, and reduce your risk of injury.