The Perfect Basketball Warm-Up Routine

Do you have a routine to lock in your shot before practice or games? 

One of our biggest pet peeves is watching players step in the gym, grab a ball, and immediately start jacking 3 pointers and think that’s an acceptable warm up. Even the best shooters/players in the world start under the hoop and work their way out.

Every rep needs to be purposeful, focused, and fundamentally sound. There’s no substitution for reps.

A few weeks ago we asked this same question in this Instagram post  alongside our 85-make warm-up routine and the post was well loved, to say the least.

We believe the reason it resonated with our audience so well was because most players desire to have a routine warm up plan, but often don't know where to start or fail to stick with it. We all need reminders!

Check out the video recap (slightly tweaked) that we filmed in the Dish Lab below:

Use our sample warm up as a guideline and add in drills / tweak it to your liking. Here are some other things to consider adding: 

1. Overhead ball wall taps (50 right hand, 50 left hand) 
2. Lay-ups from elbow, 5 each side (try to get to the hoop in one dribble)
3. 5 spot 2 pt shots, make 2 each spot
4. 5 spot 2 pt shots, make 2 each spot
5. Full court dribbling (right hand down and back, then left hand)

The key here is to find a routine that you feel covers the bases of the fundamentals. Follow it strictly for 3+ weeks, even referencing the list to make sure all steps are completed. After that, it will be memorized and the warm up will be a habit.

Can you imagine what doing a simple routine like this every day would do for the mind, skills, and discipline level of a player? LOTS! 

No shortcuts.