Basketball Workout for Losing Weight

Playing basketball can help you burn excess calories when incorporated into your weight-loss nutrition plan. Running up and down a basketball court and shooting hoops offers plenty of exercise. Exercising drills that basketball players perform during practices will not only burn fat, but strengthen your muscles and improve your coordination as well.

Playing basketball helps you burn calories and fat with a physically challenging workout. (Image: Ryan McVay/Photodisc/Getty Images)

Why Exercise?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 60 percent of American adults do not meet the daily recommendations for physical activity; 25 percent show no signs of activity at all. However, exercise is important in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle and manage your weight. Daily physical activity not only helps you maintain your physical appearance, it also reduces many disease risks such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and certain cancers. It also reduces feelings of anxiety and depression while promoting healthy bones, muscles and joints.

Health Benefits of Basketball

Basketball is an endurance team sport that requires the movement of all of your muscles through running, shooting, dribbling, and passing. Due to its high intensity activity level that involves quick, sudden movements and fast breaks, it is an effective cardiovascular exercise and can burn more than 450 calories per hour based on your body weight. It also improves your coordination, balance and endurance while improving your self-discipline and increasing your balance.

Basketball Workouts

During team practice sessions, basketball players perform a series of workouts prior to a practice game that increases their heart rate while building muscle and improving endurance. Incorporating basketball workouts into your daily exercise regimen will not only help you lose weight, but will also present you with an exciting and challenging activity that will keep you on your toes. You can do these workouts alone or with a team of two or more.

Suicides Kill Calories

As with any workout, you must start off with a warm-up. Shooting free throws for 10 minutes will warm up your muscles and raise your heart rate, getting your body in gear for what is to come next - suicides. This workout is a staple during basketball practice sessions. Starting at the base line, sprint to the free-throw line, touch it, and then sprint back to the baseline, touching it. From the baseline, sprint to the half court line, touch, and sprint back to the baseline to touch again. Lastly, sprint to the opposite free-throw line, touch, and sprint back to the baseline to touch again. Performing this three times with short breaks if needed should elevate your heart rate and stir up a sweat.

Shooting Hoops and Burning Fat

After performing suicides, your legs probably will feel weak and heavy. To strengthen your muscles, give yourself two shots to make a basket. If you miss one out of the two shots, reprimand yourself with one suicide. If you miss both shots, perform two suicides. Continue until you have met your goals for the day.