MyBasketball

This article is part of the series “30 days to being a better basketball player“.

"fatigue" by Palagret, via flickr

As we reach half-way through this series, its a good time to consider the importance of rest to your body and mind.

You can get too much of a good thing, and that’s why its good to take a small break every now and then.

Our bodies and minds are only built to take so much of anything. This holds true for basketball as well, where we need to be able to identify when its time to refresh and revitalise ourselves.

Have you ever experienced any of the following during the basketball season or your general basketball playing times?

• Lack of motivation
• Decreasing performance (eg can’t run as fast or jump as high)
• Poor immune system (ie get sick often or quickly)
• Poor appetite

If you have, it could be a sign that you’re overtraining.

If this is true, its highly likely that your body or mind needs to get away from it all. Change is as good as a holiday, so taking a break from your regular routine could be just what you need to get your game back on track.

There are some other good suggestions on recovering from overtraining in this article.

A break need not be very long, but should be long enough to restore your desire to play and for your body to feel fighting fit again.

Breaks can take many forms, but whatever you do, make sure its a real break. Otherwise you’ll just be fooling yourself

Here are some suggestions:

• Decide on a suitable time period, such as a week, that won’t negatively influence your commitments (eg team schedule) and isn’t too long to be unbearable or unrealistic.
• Make a complete break – don’t play at all (I know this will be difficult, but you won’t get the full effect if you’re only half committed).
• Listen to your body and mind – get started again when you are ready (this could be sooner than you expected, but you’ll know if it is).
• Use this time to rethink your game (strengths and weaknesses, etc) and your training schedule.
• Use this time to work through the “30 days to being a better basketball player” points again

rest" by fazen, via flickr

All in all, sometimes the only way to get better is to give yourself a break.

You’ll be better off for it afterwards.

Darren spent many years playing basketball in Pretoria, searching out every possible way to gain extra inches on his vertical in order to disprove the theory that white men can't jump. After being distracted by the corporate world for several years, Darren returned to the game he loves to contribute in some way to its' future. Darren firmly believes we will see basketball in its rightful place as one of the top sports in South Africa, and that one of the keys to doing so is seeing information about the game made easily accessible to everyone. This is why he is now part of the MyBasketball team.

Darren Gorton

View all posts by Darren Gorton
Darrens website

Other articles you might enjoy

• Day 30: Putting the lessons into practice
• Day 28: Have some fun
• Day 27: Rules of engagement