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How to stretch before basketball
Stretching Tips: Keys to a Proper Warm Up
We all know stretching is important, but do you know the proper way to stretch and warm-up before hitting the court?
The idea of stretching may not be top of mind for most youth athletes. However, stretching and properly warming up is extremely important to avoid injury and help you perform at your best.
For basketball players, especially, a combination of both dynamic and static stretches is highly recommended. Do you know the difference?
Dynamic stretches are controlled movements that prepare your body mentally and physically for performance while increasing blood flow and oxygen to your body. Static stretches are those in which you hold a single position without movement for a period of time, typically 20-30 seconds.
While both are important, they should be used in combination at different times.![]()
Dynamic stretches should be used as part of your warm-up routine before you start playing while static stretches are most effective after workouts as part of your cool-down routine.
Our union members take the time to warm up properly, and we think you should too!
Check out our NBPA Stretching Tips led by NBPA Sports Medicine Director, Dan O’Brien.
This form of stretching helps with an increased range of motion, speed, and agility. Dynamic warm-up exercises get your body prepared for basketball by performing movements that will enhance better body awareness. Remember - these should be performed right before you hit the court!
Perform each exercise for :30 seconds
Hamstring Scoops
Start with hands and palms up. Point toes up with heels planted in the ground, reach down and up making a scooping motion with each step.
Make sure to keep your back flat. This exercise helps stretch your hamstrings and calves.
Knee Hugs
Pull up from the knee and ankle, hugging the knee and coming up on your toes. Alternate each leg. This exercise stretches your glutes and helps activate the calves when coming up on your toes.
Quad Pull
Pull your leg up behind you (same hand, same leg) reaching up with the opposite hand and holding for 1-2 seconds. Take a step and switch legs. This exercise stretches the quads.
Straight Leg Kick
Hold hands out in front and kick one leg up in the air. Repeat alternating legs with each step. This exercise stretches the hamstrings and calves while also activating the hip flexors.
Forward Lunge With Rotation
Extend arms out in front, lunge forward and twist to side with knee up. This exercise stretches and activates the hip flexors while also helping with knee stability and improving knee pain.
Side Lunge
Lift knee up, lunge to the side, come back to center. Repeat. Keep chest up, back flat. This exercise helps activate the glutes and increase knee stability while also stretching the groin and abductors.
Walking RDL
RDL is short for Romanian Deadlift. Reach forward with both arms, extending 1 leg out behind and keeping back straight. Take a few steps forward and repeat. This exercise helps with hamstring strength and flexibility as well as glute strength and activation.
Side Shuffle
Perform running motion laterally while raising your opposite hand with your opposite knee. This exercise helps you move laterally while getting the hip flexors warmed up and increasing “proprioception” or awareness of the position and movement of the body.
Lateral Bounds
Stand on your right foot with your knee up.
Using only the right leg, jump to the left side landing on the left foot. This will help with glute activation and ankle & knee stability.
Static stretching can be done by moving a muscle to the end of its range of motion and holding for a specific period of time - typically 20-30 seconds. This is an effective way to increase flexibility. Remember - these should only be done after a workout during the cool-down phase because static stretching may limit your body’s ability to react quickly.
Perform each exercise for :30 seconds
LOWER BODY:
Standing Hamstring Stretch
Bend forward, hinging at the hips, letting arms hang in front towards your toes. This exercise will stretch your hamstrings.
Standing Quad Stretch
While standing, bend your knee back by grasping your ankle with one hand.
This exercise will stretch your quads
Butterfly
Bring your feet together and let your knees fall to the floor. This exercise will stretch your groin.
Calf Stretch
Start in a pushup position, drop your heel to floors. This exercise will stretch your calves.
UPPER BODY:
Cross Arm Stretch
Reach one arm across the other and hold
Low Back Stretch
Put right leg behind left, reach across and up with right hand and hold.
Forward Step & Reach
Starting in push up position, bring right foot up to right hand, lift right hand and look up
To learn more about how to properly prepare your body and your mind for basketball, download the Famer App and join the NBPA Training Ground!
Stretches for Basketball | The Best Basketball Stretches
by Brad Walker | First Published October 31, 2010 | Updated April 12, 2019
An appropriate mix of skill, stamina and strength is essential for the game of basketball.
If you desire to be in perfect shape to play basketball then regular basketball stretches will help. Basketball training helps take your game to the next level.
Muscles used in Basketball
All the muscles in the body play an important role in a game of basketball. Running, jumping and pivoting involve muscles throughout the trunk, legs and feet. The quadriceps and hamstring muscles play a crucial role in these activities, as well as the abdominals, calf and gluteus muscles.
Passing, throwing and shooting in basketball involves the upper body muscles, such as the rotator cuff muscles, coracobrachialis, latissimus dorsi, biceps brachii, brachioradialis and triceps brachii.
Most Common Basketball Injuries
Like many athletic injuries, those occurring in basketball may be classified as chronic (overuse) injuries or acute (traumatic) injuries.
Chronic injuries occur when a particular area is put under continual stress and becomes fatigued and damaged in the process, causing pain, loss of movement, and in many cases, swelling. Common chronic injuries in basketball include:
- Rotator cuff tendinitis;
- Patellar tendinitis, also known as jumper’s knee; and
- Achilles tendinitis.
Acute injuries, unlike chronic or overuse injuries, result from a sudden forceful event. Some of the most common acute injuries in basketball include:
- Muscle strains or tears
- Jammed fingers;
- Groin strain;
- Knee injuries, including anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) sprain and meniscus tear; and
- Ankle sprains.
Injury Prevention Strategies
Conditioning and technique training are all essential in basketball, and may help to avoid some of the more common injuries, particularly those due to overuse, as well as common muscle and tendon strains and tears.
The following are also useful in helping to prevent basketball injuries.
- Warm-up properly prior to training and especially competition.
- Allow time for a complete cool-down period after training and competition.
- Strength training and improved cardiovascular fitness will help to build resistance to injury.
- Good flexibility training will reduce injuries from tight and inflexible muscles.
- Practicing balance, agility and proprioception drills to improve knee and ankle stability.
- Be aware of the position of other players on the court, to avoid collisions.
- Proper, snug-fitting and supportive footwear can help avoid injuries.
- Use of ankle supports (braces, taping, strapping, etc.) can reduce the incidence of ankle sprains.
- A mouth guard helps protect the teeth and mouth.
- Safety glasses should be used by those wearing eyeglasses.
- Basketball courts, whether indoors or out must be free of obstructions and debris.
The 3 Best Basketball Stretches
Stretching is one of the most under-utilized techniques for improving athletic performance, preventing sports injury and properly rehabilitating sprain and strain injury. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that something as simple as stretching won’t be effective.
Below are 3 of the best stretches for basketball; obviously there are a lot more, but these are a great place to start. Please make special note of the instructions with each stretch, and if you currently have any chronic or recurring muscle or joint pain please take extra care when performing the stretches below, or consult with your physician or physical therapist before performing any of the following stretches.
Instructions: Slowly move into the stretch position until you feel a tension of about 7 out of 10.
If you feel pain or discomfort you’ve pushed the stretch too far; back out of the stretch immediately. Hold the stretch position for 20 to 30 seconds while relaxing and breathing deeply. Come out of the stretch carefully and perform the stretch on the opposite side if necessary. Repeat 2 or 3 times.
Rotating Stomach and Side Stretch: Lie face down and bring your hands close to your shoulders. Keep your hips on the ground, look forward and rise up by straightening your arms. The slowly bend one arm and rotate that shoulder towards the ground.
Squatting Leg-out Groin and Adductor Stretch: Stand with your feet wide apart. Keep one leg straight and your toes pointing forward while bending the other leg and turning your toes out to the side. Lower your groin towards the ground and rest your hands on your bent knee or the ground.
Single Heel-drop Calf and Achilles Stretch: Stand on a raised object or step and place the ball of one foot on the edge of the step.
Bend your knee slightly and let your heel drop towards the ground.
Watch the Basketball Stretches video
Click on the play button below if you prefer to follow along to a 10 minute video of the best stretches for basketball.
These basketball stretches are best done after your basketball training, as part of your cool down. They can also be done as a stand-alone stretching session to improve your basketball flexibility, but make sure you’re fully warmed up before starting the stretches.
Want more Basketball Stretches?
While the recommendations on this page are a good place to start, you'll get a lot more benefit when you add the right stretches to your training program. With the Ultimate Guide to Stretching & Flexibility you'll...
- Do away with stiff, tight muscles and joints;
- Improve your freedom of movement;
- Get rid of injuries, aches and pains;
- Improve your sporting performance; and
- Take your flexibility to the next level.
You'll get 135 clear photographs and 44 video demonstrations of unique stretches for every major muscle groups in your body. The DVD includes 3 customized sets of stretches (8 minutes each) for the Upper Body; the Lower Body; and the Neck, Back & Core. Plus, you'll also learn the 7 critical rules for safe stretching; the benefits of flexibility; and how to stretch properly.
Click here to improve your flexibility!
Research and References
- Walker, B. (2011). The Anatomy of Stretching, 2nd Edition (ISBN: 978-1583943717)
- Wikipedia contributors. (2019, April 24). Basketball, In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
- Emery, C. Rose, M. McAllister, J. Meeuwisse, W. (2007). A prevention strategy to reduce the incidence of injury in high school basketball: a cluster randomized controlled trial. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 17(1), 17-24.
- Lim, B. Lee, Y.
Kim, J. An, K. Yoo, J. Kwon, Y. (2009). Effects of sports injury prevention training on the biomechanical risk factors of anterior cruciate ligament injury in high school female basketball players. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 37(9), 1728-1734. - McGuine, T. Brooks, A. Hetzel, S. (2011). The effect of lace-up ankle braces on injury rates in high school basketball players. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 39(9), 1840-1848.
- Woolstenhulme, M. Griffiths, C. Woolstenhulme, E. Parcell, A. (2006). Ballistic stretching increases flexibility and acute vertical jump height when combined with basketball activity. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 20(4), 799-803.
- Kokkonen, J. Nelson, A. Eldredge, C. Winchester, J. (2007) Chronic Static Stretching Improves Exercise Performance. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 39(10), 1825-1831.
- Shellock, F, Prentice, W. (1985) Warming-up and stretching for improved physical performance and prevention of sports-related injuries.
Sports Medicine, 2(4):267-78. - Fradkin, A. Zazryn, T. Smoliga, J. (2010) Effects of warming-up on physical performance: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(1):140-8.
About the Author: Brad Walker is often referred to as the "Stretch Coach" and has even been called the Stretching Guru. Magazines such as Runners World, Bicycling, Triathlete, Swimming & Fitness, and Triathlon Sports have all featured his work. Amazon (author page) has listed his books on five Best-Seller lists. Google cites over 100,000 references to him and his work on the internet. And satisfied customers from 122 countries have sent 1,000's of verified customer reviews. If you want to know about stretching, flexibility or sports injury management, Brad Walker is the go-to-guy.
Disclaimer: The health and fitness information presented on this website is intended as an educational resource and is not intended as a substitute for proper medical advice.
Please consult your physician or physical therapist before performing any of the exercises described on this website, particularly if you are pregnant, elderly or have any chronic or recurring muscle or joint pain.
Warm-up before running: basic rules
There are several approaches to running warm-up: someone spends less than 30 seconds on it or skips it at all, and someone does a whole cycle of stretching exercises, which is also not good. Meanwhile, a proper warm-up before running is especially important in the cold season, when the risk of injury increases especially. We've put together some basic pre-run warm-up tips to help you prepare your body for your workout.
Quick walk or light jog
Start with a walk, then speed up and move on to a jog. This will quickly warm up your muscles and increase blood circulation. Many mistakenly skip this stage, starting a workout as soon as they go outside. But an extra 5 minutes of jogging at an easy pace will warm up your muscles and prepare the respiratory and cardiovascular system for the load.
And the lower the temperature outside, the longer the warm-up should last so that the muscles have time to warm up and become more elastic.
Self-massage when needed
If you have any problem areas (such as a tight lower back or clogged calves), massage the area with vigorous and light movements, but avoid strong pressure. Your task is to warm up the muscles as much as possible in order to make them more elastic and relieve tension. In addition, if during self-massage you felt not just discomfort, but pain, this is a reason to reduce the load or abandon it before it's too late to prevent injury.
Dynamic stretching
There are two types of stretching: static, where you keep your muscles taut and still, and dynamic, where you stretch your muscles through a set of movements. Before starting a race, especially if it is a competition or a workout that requires maximum effort, it is extremely important for a runner to warm up very well those muscle groups that are used when running: hip flexors, hamstrings, quadriceps, calf muscles.
Ideally, pre-workout dynamic stretching should include:
Tilts: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and bend towards each leg and down the center.
Hip circles: feet shoulder-width apart, hands on hips. Make slow circular movements with your hips, trying to bend in the lower back as deeply as possible.
Lunges: take several wide steps, bending your front knee at each step, and try to touch the ground with your back knee. Make sure that the knee of the front leg does not go beyond the toe.
Leg swings: standing on one leg, swing forward with the other, then back. Add side swings to the right and left, repeat with the other leg.
Foot warm-up: stretch the feet, focusing on the outside and inside of the foot, also rotate the foot, bending the leg at the knee (the foot may touch the ground or be in the air).
Avoid static stretching before exercise.
The main task of the warm-up is to warm up the muscles, increase blood circulation and prepare them for explosive work. The purpose of static stretching is the opposite - to relax the muscles and prepare them for recovery. It is important to carry out a static warm-up after a workout.
SBU - special running exercises as a warm-up before the start
SBU is a set of exercises that are performed on a short distance and allow you to improve running technique and speed qualities of an athlete. In training, the SBU is already performed “on warm muscles”, but at competitions, a set of exercises is performed shortly before the start. Usually this is 5-6 exercises with jogging between each series.
Leg Wrap Run: Run 100-200 meters, kicking your legs back and trying to touch your buttocks with your heel. Keep your back straight and avoid leaning forward too much.
Hip High Run: Run with your hip as high as you can with each stride.
At the same time, the hands work like in a run. Make sure your back stays straight and does not lean back.
Side steps: run sideways forward, putting the other foot in front of the leading one and keeping the rhythm of the movement. Change side.
Jumps: Jump high with each step, trying to hang in the air with a powerful push with your feet.
Running with straight legs: run without bending your knees, you should have straight legs, a stiff foot. Landing on the forefoot followed by a quick take-off.
In our running club every workout starts with a warm-up. If you want to learn how to properly warm up, come train at the Runlab running club.
5-minute warm-up before running
You could just run the first kilometer slowly to warm up, but our method has more advantages.
As a rule, it is very difficult to overcome the temptation to lie in bed in the morning and get up early for a run.
It is equally difficult to run a few kilometers after work. Plus, we are constantly told about the need to warm up for about 20 minutes, which we need to find somewhere and add to the workout. Therefore, we often neglect the warm-up.
There is no doubt that warming up before running is essential to injury prevention. But the question arises - how long should it take? A recent Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research study found that when scientists analyzed heart rate, oxygen consumption, and perceived exertion intensity in long-distance runners, they did not notice significant differences in most measures when the duration of the warm-up varied. Perhaps the biggest reason to warm up is the loss of muscle elasticity with age. Warming up expands the range of motion. Even a 5-minute warm-up before running with dynamic stretching can help prevent injury.
Do these 5 exercises before training or running for 30-60 seconds each to warm up and be ready for productive work.
Knee to chest + step
Target - quadriceps, gluteus, piriformis.
Pull one leg behind the knee to the chest. Let go and take a step forward. Change your leg. Then take the leg by the foot and knee, shake it, pulling it to the chest. Step forward. Change your leg.
Hip opening
Target deep thigh and hip muscles.
From a standing position, bend your knee, lift it to hip level and rotate it 90 degrees outward (help with your hands if necessary). Return to starting position and repeat with the other leg.
Arm circles
Target deltoids, upper back.
Starting position - standing, feet shoulder-width apart, arms to the sides at shoulder height, palms down. Do circular rotations with your hands for 30 seconds in one direction and the other.
Inclines
Target core, deltoids, hamstrings.
From a standing position, lean forward without bending your knees and touch the ground with your fingers.-Step-5.jpg/aid43486-v4-728px-Play-21-(Basketball)-Step-5.jpg)
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