The Importance of Dynamic Warmup For Basketball Players
Dynamic Warmup For Basketball Players
The warmup is very important in a player’s pre-game routine. It helps the players prepare for the upcoming training session or game and has a major role in injury prevention.
Most of the time, the success of your training/practice sessions depends on how well you do your warm-ups. I often see athletes rush through the warm-up or just “go through the motion” without awareness. There are days where the athlete’s going to feel tired and unmotivated to train, which is why a successful warm-up can make a difference. It can spark momentum leading into the training sessions.
Dynamic warmup for basketball players need to have these three key principles that can make it effective:
STRUCTURE – By having a system in place, it’s easier to progressively gear the athlete up to readiness. Whether they start from static to dynamic, ground-based to multi-plane movement or activation to movement prep, it helps prepare the athlete for training. A warm-up without structure can break the flow and momentum prior to training.
EDUCATE – The warm-up section is the best time to teach and learn fundamental movement and performance. Basic movements like squats, hip-hinge, lunges, etc. can be mastered. It’s also a great time to polish up some athletics skills like deceleration, acceleration, and jumping.
MINDSET – Your approach to warm-up will determine your approach to your training session. When you do your warm-up with purpose, focus, and precision, then chances are you will approach your training in the same manner. In contrast, if you perform your warm-up with sluggish and sloppy technique, then this approach will also transfer into your training.
How to Structure Your Warmup
Structuring your warmup is one of the best ways to get into your flow and build your readiness physically and mentally. I break it down into 3 components below.
- Prehab/Mobility – This is what you should start with to address previous injuries or focus on weak areas of your body
- Movement Preparation – After you perform your stationary exercises, you want to progress to doing drills on the move. This is where you do your dynamic stretches like the Inch Worms, Walking Lunge with Twist, Frankenstein, etc.
- Neural Activation – This part of the warmup is where you want to “wake up” your nervous system by doing ballistic movements. This can be a fun game, a speed and agility warmup, or anything that helps you feel explosive prior to your training.
Check out some examples on my Instagram post below.
Warming up just to break a sweat prior to your activity is a blown opportunity, instead use these principles to get the most out of your warm-ups.