Get a Basketball Workout

With the baseball season winding down, it is that time of year where basketball season is coming up. Along with baseball and football, basketball is one of those great American sports that are constantly played around the country. Most people enjoy watching basketball (or playing it as a video game) but you can enjoy it more by actually playing it on the court.
There are many sports that are great for your overall conditioning. Some of my favorites include basketball, football, and soccer. As a recreational sport, these sports are fun and are a great exercise. It is better to play continuously in these sports rather than just walking or running at a constant pace. One hour of these sports activities would not seem like exercise because you are playing rather than exercising.
Basketball is one sport that only requires a basketball and a hoop. It could give you one of the best exercises for your overall body conditioning. In fact, as a sport I think it is the best sport for overall conditioning. It does not require any special gear or equipment since you can get a basketball and play (aka exercise) at a local park or school.
You do not have to be a professional basketball player nor do you have to be a good basketball player to reap the benefits of "shooting hoops". In fact, it may be to your advantage that you are not good at playing basketball. By learning new skills such as layups, jump shots, dribbling, etc., you are conditioning and enhancing your neurological system (in addition to your muscles, ligaments, etc.).
As with any sport or strenuous activity, you should properly warm up and stretch your muscles and ligament. Also, you should gradually engage your body into playing basketball by doing regular jump shots and layups and work your way into more complicated movements such as those shots with twisting movements and such. If you are like me, you do not have to do reverse dunks (or regular dunks) to get the benefits of basketball- although it is occasionally boosting to the ego to play in rims that are well below the regulation of 10 feet.
The great point about basketball is that you can go about it by yourself unlike most sports. Here are some things you can do while playing basketball in order to get a great workout.
• Shoot basic set shots without jumping from within a few feet from the basket (in the key) for about 2 minutes. Go around the perimeter to vary your shot angle. This is great warm-up.
• Do some layups from the right side and alternate with layups from the left side. You want to use both hands to workout different sides of your body. Try this for about 3 minutes. Then, as you are warmed up, you can go faster for about 2-3 more minutes.
• Try to do jump shots around the basket. You can gradually go farther away from the basket.
• Here is my favorite way of getting a burst of speed/sprint into your basketball workout. When you miss making the basketball (which usually happens), you can sprint to get the basketball.
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