What comes into your mind when you hear the word Power? This topic will, definitely, not discuss something about supernatural powers. What is being referred is the power you need in order to carry out high energy basketball skills. It is synonymous to two important words which include strength and energy. These two are very vital for human functioning.
Most of the tips that I will be sharing focuses on important factors wherein energy is obtained to the fullest extent. Let us take a look at some of these factors. They are presented as follows:
1. Rest
Every day, our body performs different tasks. And so, rest is designed to give humans the chance to relax and regain the energy lost. The most common and well-explained form of rest is sleep. It is when we sleep that our body’s metabolism slows down, and several enzymes within our body help in repairing tissues. The maximum level of regaining energy is achieved during sleep. Another form of rest is by simply being inactive, either sitting down or lying in a sofa, as long as you are not doing anything that induces stress. However, do not rest too much. Muscles shrink and weaken when they are not being used.
2. Proper Nourishment
Most of our doe can be obtained by the matter we eat. To elevate one’s doe stratum, a suitable nutrition plays a vital part. Foods copulate as gas that enables the body to remain on deed. What foods are advisable for spirit flesh up? These foods take nutrients similar carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. They are also called as vitality nutrients.
Carbohydrates are subject sources of push in the diet.
Carbohydrates are made of sugar. It can be from plants which can be called as starch; from fruits called as fructose; or from milk called as lactose. Starches that render carbohydrates include grains, cereals, breads, pasta, and legumes. These are what you call as simple sugars. However, there are also complex sugars. Usually, it comprises the combination of the above simple sugars. As sugars are being taken into the body, the term that is used to call them is glucose. Glucose is very essential because they serve as food for the cells in the body, thereby, providing the energy that the vital organs of the body needs. Without it, it is impossible for an organ tissue to function.
The thing is that a person must take sugar within the normal range. Otherwise, it can cause diseases like diabetes mellitus or DM. In DM, there is an increase build up of sugar in the body which causes too much exhaustion in the pancreas, particularly in the Islets of Langerhans, where Beta cells are located and are responsible for the production of insulin. It is known that insulin delivers glucose from the blood into the tissues. Its depletion can cause the rise of the said disease. This type of DM is commonly referred as DM type 2, wherein there is also insulin resistance because of the increase accumulation of fats in insulin receptor sites.
Carbohydrate intake may be limited within 50 – 100 mg per day.
Proteins
Proteins are commonly considered as building blocks of life. They are absolutely good sources of energy. They constitute of functions in the body, including prescript of fluids, tissue doctor and integrity, and a lot. The sources of proteins are more of animal origin such as meat, and other soy products.
Fats
People may not like fats. But, believe it or not, they are also considered as energy source. Most of them can be found in animal origin. It is wise to take them to a minimum to prevent cardiovascular diseases. The thing you should do is to take in good cholesterol, or those called as unsaturated fats. They are not mostly from animal origin and they are good for the heart. Food sources may permit fish oils, oleaginous search, cookery oil, rootlike oil, and marge. Lastly, both proteins and carbohydrates provide 4 kcal/g of vim, and fats give 9 kcal/g of liveliness.
Water
Our body is majorly made up of 60% water. Water is a mineral. It is also vital for organ functioning since it provides the necessary fluid that the body needs. Just try to look at our blood. It is composed of fluid too. Drinking water increases blood volume, thereby, increasing the blood’s ability to flow freely and deliver the necessary nutrients to all parts of the body.
3. Exercise
Exercise is the best way of strengthening and adding power to your muscles. Muscles mean power. When you exercise your muscles, they tend to increase in size and strength. Those exercises that provide muscle resistance are the best ones that should be applied. These exercises are what we call as weight-bearing exercises. Most importantly, all of the muscle groups should be developed, not just selective parts. This will provide a proportional body structure. Imagine how you would look like having well-developed biceps, and triceps, but with huge and hanging stomach. It does not look good at all.
Lower section: legs, thighs/hamstrings, buttocks, calves, feet
Exercises in this section helps strengthen the lower extremities which is necessary for jumping in order to shoot, pass, or rebound the ball. Weight-bearing exercises also strengthen the joints and cartilages that encapsulate the bones in both the ankles and knees. You can exert a very powerful jump and land on the floor firmly without joint discomforts. Moreover, strong legs prevent the player from easily falling down.
There are lots of exercises for this section. One example is this:
- Stand erect with both feet apart.
- Hold a dumbbell (just enough pounds you can carry) in each of your hand. The hands should be on each side with palm facing the body.
- Lower your body by bending at the knee for at least four inches.
- Flex your buttocks, hips and thigh as hard as possible.
- Slowly rise up when your knees are almost locked in. Keep the pressure in your hip and leg area.
- You can repeat the procedure as long as you are able to do so.
Middle section: abdomen
The target of the middle section is the stomach. As you try to carry yourself, as well as other objects, your middle section contributes valuable force so that you can push yourself up or you can carry something with additional support. This will also strengthen your stomach, and will prevent it from easily getting hurt. You see, if the muscles of your stomach are not well-developed, it is usually very soft and vulnerable.
The most common exercise for the middle section is abdominal crutching. You can either carry your upper body or lower body to put the pressure in the abdominal muscles.
Upper section: biceps, triceps, chest
The last one is your upper body section. This is very important to strengthen your arms for shooting and defense. The chest is also vital for offense and, most particularly, in defense since it is always the chest that is being upfront to receive different levels of external forces induced by rival player. In addition, strong and powerful upper body section help player maintain their body in mid-air for quite some time, which they call as the hang-time move. It is usually exerted by players when opponents rally in front of them.
Exercises include carrying of dumbbells, or a barbell, up and down in both hands, while lying on a flat exercise bench; carrying of dumbbell in one or both hands, and flexing the arms in the elbows; and carrying a dumbbell in both hands, and slightly flexing them on both sides of the body, and then extend the arms backwards until the arms straightened up. The exercise mentioned develops the major and minor pectoralis/chest muscles; biceps, and triceps.
Do not forget to hydrate yourself in between exercise sessions. This is for fluid replacement since you are losing fluids when you sweat during exercise. Another thing, you can consult a sports conditioning and strengthening coach, or a gym instructor, for exercises that help build and develop the lower, middle, and upper section of the body.
Picture credit: kelsey lovefusionphoto • Creative Commons Attribution
