Stretching for Basketball – The Ultimate GuidePosted on 27. Dec, 2012 by Coach Mac in Training

Photo courtesy fortrucker

There is some debate when it comes to whether stretching before or after basketball offers any benefits. Conventional wisdom says that stretching before physical activity will help you warm up your muscles which will help to prevent injury. While some people say that simply doing whatever activity you are about to do will warm up your muscles and stretching is not necessary.

I believe that stretching offers a number of benefits to your players and on this page I am going to discuss the importance of stretching before and after a game.

 

Why You Should Stretch Before Every Game

The reason for stretching before a game is to prevent injuries and prepare your muscles for action. A muscle is not like a rubber band, they are not very elastic. Any jerking or sudden movements can result in serious muscle injuries.

When you take some time to stretch, you are gradually increasing the length of your muscles and longer muscles will allow you to move your body with a reduced risk of pulling or tearing injuries.

Stretching also increases blood flow throughout the muscle and helps release synovial fluids in the joints that act as lubrication. This lubrication allows you to move your body more easily and with a greatly reduced risk of injury.

 

Always Warm-Up Before Stretching

The biggest mistake I see regarding stretching is when players and coaches consider stretching to be their entire warm-up. They completely neglect that they first must warm-up their muscles before they begin stretching.

You should never stretch your muscles when they are cold. If you do, it can result in pulling or tearing of a muscle.

The smart way to get ready for a game or practice: Warm up – Stretch – Play Hard!

You need to remember that warming up and stretching are two completely different things. A lot of people see this as the same thing and that’s when injuries can potentially occur.

The two best ways I know of warming up before stretching are either jogging or jumping rope. I recommend you do either of these two warm-ups for 5 – 10 minutes before you begin stretching.

 

The Best Basketball Stretching Routine

Following is the stretching routine I get each of my players to perform before every game or practice. It takes roughly 3 – 5 minutes, and as we previously mentioned, is performed after a 5-minute warm-up.

The routine consists of 8 different stretches that should be held for 10 – 15 seconds each.

Shoulders

It is very important you thoroughly warm up the shoulder joints. The shoulder is used in every aspect of playing basketball. 

1. Stretch your shoulders by grabbing the elbow of your left arm with your right hand and pulling it towards the right side of your body. Then repeat on the other side of your body.

2. Arm circles are a dynamic way of stretching your shoulder joints. Begin with your arms straight out to your sides. From this position start moving your arms in small circles. Gradually increase the size of the circles until you’re doing large circles.

Triceps

The triceps are the muscles located on the back of your arms and are responsible for the extension of your arm. 

3. You can stretch this muscle by putting one arm over your head, forming an upside-down ‘v’ so that your upper arm is touching your lower arm. This means that your elbow

should be straight up in the air. Then grasp your elbow with your other hand and pull the elbow towards your head. You should feel a nice resistance.

Hamstrings

The hamstring is found on the back of your upper leg. 

4. To stretch your hamstring, sit on the floor and straighten one leg out while keeping the other bent. In this position you reach out and try to touch your toes.

 Groin

Groin stretches stretch the muscles located in the inner, upper portion of your legs. 

5. These can be stretched from the sitting position by putting your feet flat against each other, holding your ankles with your hands, and then gently pushing your knees down with your elbows.

 Quadriceps

The Quadriceps muscle, or ‘quad’, is found on the front of your upper leg. This is the largest muscle group and is the muscle most important when running and jumping. 

6. To stretch it you’ll need to be standing. Kick one of your legs back towards your buttocks and grab that leg by the ankle with the hand on the same side. You should feel a nice stretch in the front of your upper leg. If you have poor balance, you should do this stretch while leaning against a wall to help stabilize yourself.

 Calf

The calf muscle is found on the back of your lower leg.

7. The best stretch for your calf muscle requires the use of a wall. Point the toes of the leg you’re stretching as high as you can up the wall while keeping your heel touching the ground. You should feel a nice stretch in the bottom of your lower leg. To improve the stretch, gradually lean your hips closer to the wall.

 Achilles Tendon

The achilles tendon connects the calf muscle to the heel bone and is unfortunately skipped over by many coaches in basketball stretching which can result in a lot of injuries. 

8. To stretch it you’re going to perform the same stretch as the calf muscle except you must bend your knee of the leg you’re stretching against the wall. You should feel the transfer from your calf muscle to the lower part of your leg, just above your ankle.

 

Three Important Stretching Tips

1. Don’t bounce during a stretching. If you do you’re risking injury.

2. If you’re in pain, stop the stretch immediately. All you should feel when you’re stretching is a comfortable resistance on the muscle.  

3. Focus on your breathing. Make sure your breathing is slow and comfortable. Don’t hold your breath during a stretch.

 

Stretching After a Game

Stretching after a game is just as important as warming up and stretching before a game. But just as you should warm up before stretching at the beginning of your game or practice, you should first perform some cool down exercises before stretching afterwards as well.

A few minutes of light cardio work will help bring down your heart rate to a steady pace. Even walking for a few minutes is a good way to cool down.

Stretching after a workout helps to reduce the lactic acid build up that causes muscle soreness after a game or workout. It can also improve range of motion, increase flexibility, and it will improve circulation and blood flow to your muscles.

I get my players to perform the same stretching routine after the game as they do pre-game.

- Coach Mac

Tags: basketball, basketball stretching, stretching for basketball