If you do not already know, dynamic warm-ups are warm-ups that expose your joints to a wide range of motion and movement prior to the actual physical activity, or in this case, basketball. While they tend to be overlooked, dynamic warm-ups are beneficial and much-needed for a variety of reasons - they prevent muscle injuries and soreness and basically mentally and physically preempt the body for the activity itself. In this article, we will introduce you to five categories of dynamic warmups and the exercises they entail.

1. Mobility and flexibility

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Because one key component of basketball is expanding our mobility skills while dashing from one end of the court to another, it is important to first get our rusty joints lubricated and moving, thereby improving movement, speed, and agility. The hip is usually tight, and we can begin by loosening it up with forward lunges and rotation exercises. This requires the athlete to begin by executing a lunge before rotating both legs, and the warm-up essentially repeats itself continuously by alternating both legs.

Beyond that, warm-up exercises in the form of simple lateral movements can also be employed to get the body moving - these include the run and shuffle where athletes run towards a cone, then shuffle to the next cone, repeating the alternate process until all cones are crossed. Even a slow jog around the court is a good mobility exercise to begin with as it gradually increases body temperature and lubricates joints.

2. Activating the glutes

In this stage, warm-up exercises increase in intensity as they are focused on the upper and lower body where the glute is targeted. Squats are a staple for glute activation. When doing dynamic squats, we run forward for a short distance before each squat. When squatting, ensure that the hips are extended backward instead of pushing downwards - doing so stimulates one’s glutes as the glutes are made to stall the downward motion, essentially activating them. Should you feel you need to stretch the muscles out more, one can also do static glute bridge - an exercise that requires athletes to lay down on the floor with their knees bent, and feet perpendicular to the ground. From there the athlete lifts his hips off the ground and stays in the bridged position for several seconds before easing back down. This process is repeated several times. Your glutes are bound to be strong in no time!

3. Activating core muscles

Core strengthening exercises are aplenty, with one of the most common ones being the plank. Basketball athletes can kick off core dynamic warm-ups with a static plank - where one holds in a push-up position. Make sure to keep your hips straight, and repeat about three reps of forty seconds each. Doing this activates the abdominal muscles in attempting to keep the body straight, thus strengthening one’s core muscles. You can do the same for several variations of planks, challenging yourself with side planks and planking with one leg lifted.

Another core dynamic warm-up is the famous Pallof Press, which necessitates the use of a resistance band. To do the Pallof Press, attach the resistance band to something sturdy at around chest level. Then, using both hands to grab one end of the band, hold the resistance band to your chest, extending both arms forward while still gripping onto the band. As you are forced to hold in that position without moving your torso, the core is forced to remain stable, strengthening over time.

4. Activating agility

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Basketball is all about footwork, which is to say that agility is an integral aspect of basketball. One dynamic warm-up exercise that seeks to tackle is backpedalling. Backpedalling requires the athlete to lower their hips slightly and to move backward continuously for a certain time or distance. Doing so can help to improve coordination, backward movement, and balance, all of which are essential in basketball. If you’re feeling ambitious, challenge yourself by accelerating the backpedalling to a backpedal sprint!

5. Plyometrics

Plyometric exercises are all about training muscles to be prepared when substantial force is being exerted, especially in the knee area in the case of basketball as athletes are involved in a good deal of jumping. These include lateral jumping and hopping drills. To begin, one raises one foot, while the other remains on the ground. The athlete then attempts to hop with the food on the ground for a certain number of times and duration before switching over to the other foot.

Another famous plyometric exercise is the box jump - where a box of a certain height is positioned in front of the athlete, and the athlete jumps onto the box from the ground. This can be challenging and rather high impact, but when mastered properly, an athlete’s ability to jump can vastly improve.

The next time you play basketball, keep these dynamic warm-up exercises in mind and be sure not to skip them!

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