Here’s what we use for a dynamic warm up before basketball practice.<\/p>\n
I’m not a doctor or a certified trainer. \u00a0I’m just a coach that has borrowed ideas from other experts and put together a plan that I like and that makes sense to me. So keep that in mind as you read. I’m just sharing what we do to possibly give you ideas and spur some thoughts.<\/p>\n
This is something we do before practice starts. \u00a0Depending on whether we skip anything, it takes about 15-20 minutes. \u00a0If possible we do this in the gym. \u00a0If gym time is limited, we’ll warm up in the hallway before practice starts.<\/p>\n
Depending on the space you have and number of players, sometimes you’ll need to improvise to make each exercise efficient.<\/p>\n
The purpose of a dynamic warm up is to raise the body’s core temp, prepare for rigors of practice, lower the risk of injuries<\/a> (ACL, knee, ankle), and improve athleticism (balance, joint mobility, body control, strength, agility, flexibility and so on).<\/p>\n Injury Prevention<\/strong><\/p>\n From what I have read, the chance of injury increases significantly when athletes start puberty. \u00a0I have also read that a good strength and injury prevention program can reduce the likelihood of those injuries.<\/p>\n And just from observing LOTS of players, I notice sloppy fundamental movements (ex: running, jumping, changing direction) — and lack of strength in glutes, core, etc. \u00a0I am no expert but it seems to me that those players get injured too often.<\/p>\n So our\u00a0dynamic warm up includes lots of exercises designed to improve balance, fundamental movements, and strength.<\/p>\n Improving Strength & Athleticism<\/strong><\/p>\n Another major benefit of the dynamic warm up is the increased strength and athleticism. \u00a0Genetics play the biggest role in athleticism, but there are improvements you can make by implementing exercises to improve balance, spatial awareness, coordination (hands and feet), strength, flexibility, and body control.<\/p>\n Here’s the warm up we use…<\/p>\n 1) Jog straight ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n Self explanatory. \u00a0Have players jog the length of the gym, down and back. \u00a0Right away we want players focused on good running form… no knees buckling or sloppy form.<\/p>\n 2) Forward & backward movement<\/strong><\/p>\n Next we incorporate forward and backward movement. \u00a0You can choose one of the following exercises:<\/p>\n Skipping is good for coordination, rhythm, and a light calf stretch. \u00a0When running, make sure following good running form (upper body straight, don’t let knees buckle, and keep hips\/knees\/feet aligned).<\/p>\n 3) Lateral movement<\/strong><\/p>\n Now we want to continue increasing core temp and lubricate the joints with some lateral movement. We mix up the exercises to prevent boredom, provide stimulation, and offer new challenges. You can choose one of the following exercises:<\/p>\n 4) \u00a0Hamstrings<\/strong><\/p>\n Next we dynamically stretch the hamstrings and work on balance. \u00a0We choose one of the following exercises:<\/p>\n 5) Hips<\/strong><\/p>\n Next we work on hip flexibility. \u00a0From what I’m told, basketball players are almost always\u00a0tight in their hips, calves, and ham strings. \u00a0So we try to maintain flexibility in all three areas. \u00a0We choose one of the following for hips:<\/p>\n 6)\u00a0Quads or\u00a0Calf<\/strong><\/p>\n Next we choose a quad or calf stretch. \u00a0We choose one of the following exercises and again we mix things up to provide stimulation\u00a0and variety:<\/p>\n 7) Core strength<\/strong><\/p>\n Now\u00a0choose one of these core strengthening exercises. \u00a0A strong core will improve athleticism and reduce likelihood of injuries. We start with basic plank and progress to more advanced as season progresses.<\/p>\n 8) Lateral core strength<\/strong><\/p>\n Next we choose one of these lateral core exercises. \u00a0We start with side\u00a0plank and progress to more advanced exercises as season progresses.<\/p>\n 9) Balance<\/strong><\/p>\n We choose one of these balance exercises. \u00a0Start with most basic (around waist) and progress through. \u00a0Then we mix things up for variety during the season.<\/p>\n 10) Squats<\/strong><\/p>\n Next we choose one of these squat exercises. \u00a0We start with basic squat\u00a0and progress to more advanced exercises as season progresses. \u00a0Focusing on proper technique is important.<\/p>\n 11) Jumping and landing<\/strong><\/p>\n Next we choose one of these jumping\u00a0exercises. \u00a0We start with basic vertical jump\u00a0and progress to more advanced exercises as season progresses. \u00a0Focusing on proper technique is important.<\/p>\n 12) Push ups<\/strong><\/p>\n Next we work on upper body strength with good old fashioned push ups. \u00a0You can either set a time limit or prescribed number of reps.<\/p>\n Make sure athletes use proper technique. \u00a0Here are some tips for proper push up technique<\/a>. \u00a0If an athlete has trouble doing push ups properly, utilize the progression and regression ideas here<\/a>.<\/p>\n 13) Pull ups<\/strong><\/p>\n And for the final exercise, if we have a pull up bar available, we do pull ups. \u00a0This is another excellent exercise that targets numerous upper body muscles. \u00a0We often spot players and\/or use bands to assist, since some are not strong enough yet.<\/p>\n Look, I see tons of coaches using dynamic warm ups. \u00a0But VERY few do it correctly. \u00a0This is really important.<\/p>\n You MUST watch players and make sure they do things right. \u00a0I stress to players that they have to focus and do the exercises technically correct! \u00a0You really have to get on them.<\/p>\n If you don’t feel comfortable teaching and monitoring an exercise, don’t do it.<\/p>\n I have watched thousands of warms ups for soccer, basketball and a variety of sports. 90% of the time coaches aren’t even watching! \u00a0They are talking with someone or setting up practice while the players are rushing through, talking, and sometimes doing more harm than good.<\/p>\n The first couple times we try to get 25-50% through this warm up. \u00a0It takes a while for players to learn how to do the exercises properly — so we just implement in chunks. \u00a0Then we keep adding as they learn.<\/p>\n Once players know the entire warm up\u00a0and if we’re focused, it\u00a0takes about 20 minutes.<\/p>\n We always try to do this warm up before practice so it doesn’t interfere with skill development time.<\/p>\n You will probably need to omit certain exercises due to time constraints. \u00a0We usually omit a couple stretches and strength exercises to save time. \u00a0If we want a really fast warm up… we’ll do something like this:<\/p>\n This is a really quick and dirty warm up that\u00a0I think is effective.<\/p>\n I use this dynamic warm up\u00a0at the 6th – 8th grade levels. \u00a0For high school players we follow the staff trainers lead. \u00a0For younger players we focus mostly on fundamental movements, balance, coordination, and basic forward\/lateral movement.\u00a0I often include a ball with the warm up to make better use of time with young kids.<\/p>\n However with older players that have started puberty, the chances of serious injury become higher and I believe a focused\u00a0dynamic warm up that includes the injury prevention is important. \u00a0So we remove the ball and focus on technique.<\/p>\n Look, there are hundreds of different warm up drills<\/a>, exercises and opinions out there on what players should do. \u00a0Our warm up will probably change next year and evolve. \u00a0If you have feedback or suggestion, please send them my way.<\/p>\n Here’s a video showing similar but different exercises:<\/p>\nThe Dynamic Warm Up<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Don’t Make this Mistake<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Time Constraints<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Adjustments Based on Age<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Other Options and Feedback<\/strong><\/h2>\n