OT: Tips for getting back into game shape?

[Miklo]

So aside from roughly one casual pickup game a year (including breaks when everyone got winded so I don't really count it), it's been about 6 years since I've played basketball competitively. I stopped when I tore a ligament in my wrist, and then I tried coming back a couple times only to pick up other nagging injuries. The main thing that caused it to drag out to 6 years was stuff with my back, so I kind of gave up after numerous failed attempts.

I'm finally ready to get back in the saddle and have the opportunity to play competitively (still basically pick-up basketball, but more serious and not with a breather whenever I need one - and if that goes well enough I may look into a rec league). The problem is, well, I'm 6 years out of game shape...and yes, that means very minimal working out overall these past few years due to the previously mentioned injuries.

I obviously need to get my shot back, so I've started doing a bunch of shooting around to practice. That's the easy part. The most glaring 2 issues are:

-need to put on around 20 pounds so I'm not forced to just camp on the perimeter, where I'm only an acceptable long range shooter

-need to get my stamina back...I am literally winded after like 5-10 minutes of cardio activity

Now I know my way around a gym, but I'm no fitness expert, so to me these feel like conflicting goals. If I go hardcore with cardio, I feel like I'll *lose* weight...and if I focus on strength training and loading up on food or protein mixes or whatever, I'm not making progress on being able to run the court for an hour.

So the big question is, does anyone who has been in a similar situation or is more acquainted with fitness training than I am have any pointers? I will come right out and say that I have a very busy work schedule and can only see myself having access to a full weight room/cardio equipment twice a week. I have a basketball hoop I can shoot around on any night, and can do outdoor walking/running any night.

[TASTIC]

Put down the fork.

[MilotheSlayer]

First you need to lose the weight. Try jumping rope, its great cardio and you can shed pounds if you go hard for 20 minutes. once you lose the fat hit the weights to add the muscle. focus on all parts, with only 2 days i'd go legs and upper body (arms, back, chest). Also do core strengthening every time. sit ups, ab workouts.

[Miklo]

Put down the fork.

Man, where do they find these mods

First you need to lose the weight. Try jumping rope, its great cardio and you can shed pounds if you go hard for 20 minutes. once you lose the fat hit the weights to add the muscle. focus on all parts, with only 2 days i'd go legs and upper body (arms, back, chest). Also do core strengthening every time. sit ups, ab workouts.

Makes sense - I'm actually looking to gain 20 pounds, not lose, so I guess I have a head start on this!

[DRK]

From what I've read, you're in allright shape and fat loss isnt one of your goals. That makes it alot easier.

If you want just to improve overall strength and conditioning, the stamina will come as you pump it out at the gym. As youre looking for overall strength increase, and not just targeting a certain body part, focus on exercises that target more than one muscle. Compound exercises like deadlifts, bench press, squats and chin ups are your best friend here, as youre working more than one muscle group at once. Start off light, and then work heavier. Form is everything.

I would also look into bodyweight exercises that do not require equiptment that you could do around the house. Pushups and their variations are you best friend, and even dips. Even a small 10min workout can help you.

As you pump away at the gym, you are already building up stamina, and your body gets used to more and more intense workouts. I wouldnt be too worried. I would also look into HIIT. (High Intensity Interval Training) That will improve your explosiveness and speed, and also "train" the heart so you can get more stamina. Exercises like burpees, and even just 100m sprints would help you out.

All this is nothing unless you do have a good, high protein diet, while cutting out alot of sugars... and drinking alot of water.

Keep that up and youd be able to ball like the young ones in no time, and youll easily find yourself a much better player too.

Good luck!

[Kerrsed]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_6DMKyiAXc[/youtube]

[Qwigglez]

I'd like to think I'm in fairly decent shape. I'd say work on doing some compound lifts if you're hitting the gym, such as bench press, back squats, deadlifts, thrusters. If you can't hit the gym, I'd recommend doing some type of crossfit workouts, or do a lot of calisthenics type exercises such as push-ups, pull-ups, burpees, lunges, etc.

Here's are a couple basic WODs you can do, as long as you have a pull-up bar.
Cindy- 20 mins of as many reps as possible of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 air squats. I haven't done this in a while, but I'm usually doing anywhere between 24-26 rounds.
Murph- Run 1 mile, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 air squats. Run 1 mile. Break down the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats however you want. I normally run the first mile around 10 miles an hour, and the second mile at 8 to 8.5 miles an hour. My average time now is around 32 minutes. When I first did this workout it took me 54 minutes.

Anyway, I'm in the Navy, and the physical readiness assessment is about to show up (every six months) so all the fat guys are in the gym right now. I'd say the common mistake most of them make when going to the gym is they try to work on isolation movements, such as bicep curls, or calf raises. That's all fine and dandy, but you really have to build your foundation first before you start sculpting your body. If you're gonna run, do interval training, instead of just running at a modest pace. If you can run without heavy breathing at 9MPH on the treadmill, then do sprints at 10.5mph for a quarter mile and then walk briskly for a tenth of a mile, do this for 4-5miles or however long you got at the gym.

If you don't have a lot of time, I'd recommend doing some empty stomach workouts in the morning, before work or whatever you have to do throughout the day, make sure you maintain a low heart-rate so you burn fat instead of muscle. I'd recommend doing slow mountain climbers, pushups. lunges, dips. If you can buy a kettlebell (24Kg or 53lbs) get that. Takes about 15 minutes, then start your morning routine. This should help you trim fat and build lean muscle which should equate to being in better basketball shape.

[bwgood77]

Besides the weight lifting mentioned in the last post, to help you keep up on the court and not get winded, but not also lose a lot of weight when getting your endurance up,

do interval training/running. You can do it on a stairmaster, treadmill, or just outside, but start out jogging for 60 seconds and then sprinting for 30 seconds, and alternate for 12 minutes...the sprints will get harder and harder but you will be working in the same capacity on as you do on a basketball court.

A stairmaster will help you achieve similar results while also building a little more muscle in your legs...just change the resistance (and/or how fast you go) every 60 and 30 seconds.

Eventually, you can move to 45 seconds of jogging, then 30 seconds of sprinting, and then 30/30 once you get that down.

And also gradually increase from a total of 12 minutes to a total of 20 minutes.

[Frank Lee]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_6DMKyiAXc[/youtube]

if yoga is a thing you may consider... try this ball busting one

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCXM5ig8us4[/youtube]

No lie... its like 60 minutes of full court hoop...

[ATTL]

I played in a 3 on 3 tourney at work last night. I haven't played basketball in 3 years and haven't done cardio outside hiking in the past 6 months. I've only been lifting and wow was I winded fast. Definitely can't neglect your cardio for basketball.

If you have trouble with hunger and control you could look into an EC stack for better control.

What kind of gym do you have access to?

[Revived]

Nothing brings you back into game shape like playing in bunch of pick up games yourself.

That and I'd say outdoor running.

I agree with DRK, weight loss isn't your problem. Your main problem is gonna be stamina.

[Revived]

I played in a 3 on 3 tourney at work last night.

Where do you work?

[JMac1]

You want to gain twenty pounds and get into basketball shape?! Good luck with that. You have guys in the NBA who can't do that with the best money can buy. Just worry about the conditioning first if you want to hoop. The older you get the more you need to camp around the three point line...... You need to realize you are playing hoop to have fun and stay in shape without getting on a boring ass treadmill. I would caution you about playing hoop a lot as you get older, it is very dangerous and considering you have listed a lot of bothersome injuries it might not be in your best interest to play too often.

Go 70/30 on the Protein and Carbs......as Kerrsed said stay away from the sugar and drink lots of water. The yoga, lifting, track intervals, hiking, biking, swimming, 10-20 minutes home exercise videos...et al will get you pretty shredded and conditioned.

Again, I wouldn't worry about the weight gain, unless you were planning on playing in the NFL....it's about muscle density, heart strength and lung capacity.

good luck

[RunDogGun]

You can play ball at an older age, but just know your limitations. You just can't do things you could before.

To get back into shape, I usually just do a ton of stretching, some light lifting (light weight, tons of reps), and get into whatever small pickup game I can. I still play sometimes, and I'm approaching my mid forties.

[Miklo]

Thanks for the tips, everyone! I tried some out at the gym yesterday and will incorporate more and see what works.

I think it's also a good point that straight up weight gain isn't the ultimate thing to be aiming for. I *am* well below average weight for my height so I would like to put on at least a little, but I realize putting on 20 pounds is a little bit of a lofty goal - especially with my metabolism, which seems to burn everything I eat no matter the quantity. But yeah, if I can get stronger and get my stamina up, I'll be plenty competitive.

What kind of gym do you have access to?

I have access to the Duke University fitness center since I have family who went there, which consists of a good variety of weight machines, free weights, cardio equipment, and basketball courts - I find it to be a notch above a lot of the chain fitness clubs, which isn't always true at universities.

[RunDogGun]

Once you get your stamina back, putting on muscle shouldn't be too hard. More than likely you will lose a little at the start, but then you can focus on your core, and guys will have difficulty moving you around, even at a lighter weight. Size can be compensated by good foot work, and a strong base.

Just getting out there and putting forth the effort will be a decent reward. For shooting, I would watch those twenty minute video that Nash did. Great practice for shooting from everywhere, while constantly moving and getting cardio at the same time.

I need to get back into drum playing shape since I joined this band. I need to stretch more.

[LukasBMW]

Cardio:

Start walking each day. Make it a point that if you have not walked a mile yet that day, you cannot go to bed. A mile walk should take 20 minutes. Shower before you go to bed. You will sleep like a baby.

Turn the nightly walk ritual into a run. Run a mile. That should take 7-15 minutes depending on how fast you do it.

Turn the run into a jog to a nearby park or area where you can run wind sprints. Run in a box shape. Jog 30 seconds, then make a sharp right hand turn and sprint 30 seconds. Then make another sharp right and jog 30 seconds. Then make one more sharp right and sprint 30 seconds. Your running pattern should actually look more like a rectangle then a box because you will obviously cover more distance during your 30 second sprints.

If you live near a high school that has an outdoor track, another option is to jog the curves and run the straights. Just a mile of that is a killer workout.

Weights:

I'll let the other guys advise here. If you know your way around the gym, just make sure you are hitting back/biceps, chest/triceps/shoulders, and legs. I actually lift 5 days a week and do cardio on my off days.

Mon: Back/Biceps/abs
Tue: OFF
Wed: chest/tricpes
Thursday: Legs
Friday: Shoulders/traps
Sat: Bicep/Tricep/ab day

Diet:
F- all this low car garbage. You need a diet that has both carbs and protein. You'll find it easier to east clean if you ease into it. Start with one clean meal a day, then 2, then 3, then...it will get to a point where garbage food taste like garbage. I can tell you that if I have a lapse where I start eating **** food, it becomes HARDER to stay away from **** food. But if I am eating clean, I almost stop craving **** food altogether.

Meal 1:
-Banana wrapped with toasted whole wheat bread and all natural peanut butter spread
-protein shake (optimum nutrition)

Meal 2:
-6 egg whites
-oatmeal with blueberries or black berries mixed in

Meal 3:
-chicken
-white rice
-pesto sauce
-tomatoes
-spinach
(mix all that up in a container and enjoy)

Meal 4:
Cheat meal!
Keep it in control.
A deli sandwich is best. A burger won't kill you.

Meal 5:
-chicken
-white rice
-pesto sauce
-tomatoes
-spinach
(mix all that up in a container and enjoy)

Meal 6:
Protien shake
(no carbs before bed

Start slow. Start with the walking and running. Start with eating one or two clean meals a day. Start by just spending 3 days a week in the weight room focusing on solid form and slow/controlled reps. Then slowly complicate everything until it becomes an obsession.

[DRK]

Protein shakes are useful, but not a neccessity. Dont fall into the myth that you NEED one just to gain.

I take my lifting pretty seriously, and not blowing my own trumpet here, but I'm a pretty big guy (6'1, 190lbs), and pretty lean... but I've never taken protein shakes. Nothing annoys me more than skinny little dudes blabbing on about his protein shakes, while they havent gained a gram on muscle over 6 months. Protein shakes dont build muscle. Lifting builds muscle.

Eat your meat, eat your eggs, drink your milk, and you'll be allright

[Revived]

I'm curious, how many of you who go to the gym use preworkout?

[DRK]

Thanks for the tips, everyone! I tried some out at the gym yesterday and will incorporate more and see what works.

I think it's also a good point that straight up weight gain isn't the ultimate thing to be aiming for. I *am* well below average weight for my height so I would like to put on at least a little, but I realize putting on 20 pounds is a little bit of a lofty goal - especially with my metabolism, which seems to burn everything I eat no matter the quantity. But yeah, if I can get stronger and get my stamina up, I'll be plenty competitive.

Then eat. Eat and eat and keep eating, and while you do that, lift hard and regular.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/top-10- ... lking.html