How to Stretch Basketball-Style

Basketball players take their pre-practice and pre-game stretching seriously. Professional ball players, as well as amateurs, know that muscles and tendons react better to force and tension following a warm-up and thorough full-body stretching session. Whatever your sport and whatever your overall fitness level, you can protect yourself from injury by increasing your flexibility with a few key stretches. Once you commit yourself to learning a few simple exercises, you can make basketball-style stretching a part of your own workout.

Instructions

  1. Dynamic Stretches

    • 1

      Walk in place or jog lightly for several minutes. Lunge side-to-side 10 to 15 times. Choose dynamic stretches of this sort -- rather than static stretches -- to get your blood flowing and raise your body temperature.

    • 2

      Travel across the court with walking lunges. Stand in an upright position with your feet together and hands on your hips. Slowly lunge forward on your right leg, then draw your left foot forward to join the right; return to an upright position. Alternate right and left leg lunges across the room and back again.

    • 3

      Travel across the court using high-knee runs, then return with high-knee skips. Run backwards, traveling the length of court and back again.

    • 4

      Do a series of opposite-toe-arm kicks. Stand upright with your feet together and your arms stretched overhead. Kick your right leg forward while drawing your left hand toward the toes of your right foot. Repeat with your left leg and right arm. Alternate right and left leg kicks for 30 seconds.

    Upper Body Stretches

    • 5

      Loosen up your neck with a series of neck stretches. Alternate dropping your chin to your chest and lifting your chin to look upward. Rotate your head in a semi-circle from side to side, with your chin dropping down toward your chest. Alternate dropping your right ear to your right shoulder, then your left ear to your left shoulder. Rotate your head slowly in a complete circle to the right, then to the left.

    • 6

      Stretch out your arms, shoulders and chest. Keeping your arms relatively straight, rotate first your right and then your left arm backward in large circles from the shoulder joint. Reverse the rotation so your arms circle forward. Stand erect with your right forearm against a wall and your right palm pressing into the wall. Gently turn your body away from the wall until you feel a mild to moderate stretch across your chest. Hold for 15 seconds, release and repeat a total of four times before continuing on the left.

    • 7

      Stretch out your lats. Stand facing a wall with your feet shoulder-width apart. Bend over at your waist and place the palms of your hands on the wall at the height of your waist. Gently lower your torso. Feel a mild to moderate stretch and hold for 15 seconds. Release and repeat a total of four times.

    • 8

      Sit on the floor and loosely cross your legs. Place your right hand on the floor next to your right thigh, keeping the right elbow somewhat relaxed. Raise the left hand over your head with the palm facing inward. Keep your shoulders down and stretch toward the right until you feel a stretch along the left side of your body. Resist letting your bottom rise off the floor. Hold for 8 to 10 seconds; return to an upright position and repeat with your right arm reaching over to the left. Repeat on both sides a total of four times.

    Lower Body Stretches

    • 9

      Stand erect with your feet together. Lunge forward on your right leg, aligning the right knee directly over your right ankle. As your left leg extends behind, avoid arching your lower back. Contract the muscles of your behind and lunge slightly forward. Feel a mild to moderate stretch in the hip flexor, hold for 5 to 10 seconds; pull back to release, then repeat the stretch. Repeat the forward lunge 10 times.

    • 10

      Kneel down and place your right foot on the floor in front of you, keeping the right knee directly over the right ankle. Using your left hand, take hold of your left foot from behind and pull the foot upward toward your behind. Gently rock back and forth, feeling a mild to moderate stretch in your left quad.

    • 11

      Lie on your back with your feet on the floor and your knees bent. Open your feet beyond shoulder-width, rotate your upper legs inward at the hip socket and gently press your knees together. Hold the stretch for 10 seconds; release and repeat the stretch 10 times.

    • 12

      Sit on the floor with your back straight and both legs extended in front of you. Flex your feet upward, grab hold of your toes, press your lower back toward your thighs and gently pull back on the toes to stretch the calves. Release and repeat the stretch 10 times.

    • 13

      Place your hands and feet on the floor, walk forward with the hands and extend the legs behind you. Your bottom should be angled toward the ceiling. Place the left foot lightly alongside the right ankle and gently rise and lower on the ball of the right foot to stretch the ankle. Repeat 10 times on the right before switching to the left.