In order to play basketball you need to get in shape. Some wonder how they can do that. Well, there are a number of exercises you can do that can help you get into shape so you can perform at your best.

The first way to help you play on the court is to improve your movement. You have to be able to move side to side. Then you have to be able to move front to back. It can get pretty hectic. That is why you need to condition your body.

The next thing that you have to do is learn how to bounce the ball. One way to do this is spread your legs wide. Then you bounce the ball back and forth between your legs. This gives you practice with dribbling as well with making sure you have a good enough grip on the ball.

In order to make jump shots you of course have to be able to jump. There are a number of exercises that you can do to help you with this. However, we like the one where you put your feet together and place a ball on the floor. Then you practice jumping at all angles over the ball. You could even practice jumping rope for this.

To help you learn how to catch a ball you can do. What is called wall passing? You shoot the ball at the wall. It bounces back and you go to catch it. This has been very beneficial to many basketball players. This helps you to also anticipate where the ball is going.

To help you to be able to run all over the court for in most cases you are running full court you just have to learn how to run. This means running laps and doing sprints. Lunges are also good to do. This gets the heart pumping, and you’re ready to roar into action.

Practice your stances as well. If you do not have these perfected, then you might just fall or more. This will not feel good. If you are unsure about what exercises and such are best go online and there are a number of references that you can try. Trust us, you will need all the help you can get.

You also need to stay fit for this game. In order to be quick on your toes as the game demands, you need to get enough sleep as well as eating right. Carbohydrates might weigh you down and make you feel sluggish so refrain from eating them or too much of them. Make sure you go to the gym and get your body in shape. This might stress some of those muscles out as you do use a lot of them when you are playing basketball.

There are a number of things that you can do in order to prepare yourself for that game that many love. Make sure you are ready so that you can play your best game. Put your game face on. It is going to be a long ride. But you will be up for it when you see the fun that you can have.

What’s your secret to preparing yourself physically?

Picture credit: Kr. B. • Creative Commons Attribution