Basketball is a rigorous sport that involves lots of movement and requires your speed, strength, and endurance. While it is widely played, many players still fail to stay fresh while on the court, affecting their focus and gameplay. If you’re also having issues keeping yourself spry, be mindful it mostly boils down to what you do before the game. You need to constantly prepare your body for the activity and adopt a healthier lifestyle. Here are some of the best tips on how to stay fresh when playing basketball to help you bring a good fight and get that ball through the hoops.
Eat right
Proper nutrition is vital to keep you feeling invigorated. Without it, you can quickly feel exhausted, which can cause you to be sidelined on the court. You need about 60 percent of your required daily calorie intake to get optimum and lasting energy. Some excellent carbohydrates sources include low-fat dairy, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Turn them into a smoothie or make a salad are great alternative ways to add them to your diet.
Meanwhile, protein should take up 20 percent of your required calories for the day. Fish, chicken, grass-fed beef, and eggs pack tons of protein. Eating them allows you to build lean muscles and increase muscle strength – two things essential in this physical sport.
Hydrate your body
Staying hydrated is one of the critical steps in staying fresh on the court. When you’re adequately hydrated, you reduce the risks of suffering from fatigue, cramps, other muscle injuries, and heatstroke. Moreover, water lubricates your joints, regulates your body temperatures, and helps carry nutrients to keep you energized. So, be sure to drink lots of water before, during, and after playing hoops. That way, you get to replenish all water lost and allow your body to perform at its highest level.
Warm-up properly before the game
Warming up greatly helps the body prepare for the strenuous movements you’ll do in the game. However, warming up is more than the traditional lay-up and shooting lines activity most players do before the game. A proper warmup exercise should involve stretching and loosening the muscles on the core parts of your body. Jog and skip, shuffle, and do leg kicks, butt kicks, and high knees before seeing action. All those exercises will also push your cardiovascular system, resulting in increased blood flow and body temperature and providing you energy for movement.
Rest during the game
Don’t get this wrong. Resting during the game doesn’t mean you need to leave the court, and slack on the bench. After all, everyone wants to play. What resting means is properly allocating and reserving your energy throughout the game. If your team’s point guard is slowing down the pace, don’t exert effort darting too quickly to your place. Avoid unnecessary actions and jog slowly to your position and prepare for the play. That way you’ll have enough energy when things heat up.
Get proper sleep
Sleep is highly vital to everyone’s overall health. However, for players, slumber does so much more as it is critical in athletic performance. During sleep, your body and muscles recover, requiring you to have more rest to make up for the physical demands of playing basketball.
Meanwhile, shut-eye also plays an essential role in stress regulation, learning and memory, motor function, speed performance, and reaction time, proving how sleep can affect overall performance.
Without adequate sleep, you will not be able to think clearly, react quickly, and make sound decisions in gameplay. So, make sure that you get enough sleep to stay sharp and fresh on the court. No player is invincible when it comes to sleep deprivation.
Takeaway
Basketball is an intense sport. Don’t be like other players who appear so vigorous in the early minutes of the game, only to falter a few moments later. You can use the listed tips above to ensure you have enough energy and your body is fresh enough to last until the final buzzer.