George's Fitness Journal

After a day off, everyone was psyched to get back on the basketball court. Thursdays have been very crowded recently, with up to twenty guys showing up at 6:30 or earlier to show off their basketball skills. We had about twelve or thirteen today, once the next several guys shoot at the free throw line for a space on the opposing team, one entirely new squad comes on as the losing team steps off the court. The pressure of the free throw line is intense, and while my percentage is improving, I almost never make it on to a team by my efforts at the free throw line.

While I feel I played well, I did not play as "smart" as I would like. I played a total of three games to fifteen. My squad won the first, then we had to sit down for #3 when we lost a hard fought contest. I chose not to shoot for a position on the on-coming team, but rather I gave my spot up for someone who had been sitting and who had to leave. I don't get up at 4:45 AM to sit on the sidelines, so if I am not on the court, I jog or run alongside the ongoing game to keep blood flowing, keep the heart rate up, and keep from stiffening up. But I don't take my eye off the game because I always know I can learn my watching those who are more experienced than me.

I shot one for five from the field over the three games I played. It's hard to get the ball when you're on a team of shooters, even when you're open. If I am open under the basket, in what is called the "low post position," and if a teammate elects to risk a pass to me, I tend to get an adrenaline rush when it's time to shoot, so I fail to use the backboard or I go up too strong and miss the shot by bouncing it off the board too hard. Putting the ball up while close to the basket is one of the skills I still need to master.

One of my co-players saw that I was beginning to hit more from the outside, say at least ten feet or on the other side of the three-point arch. He said the other team was seeing me at a threat from the outside (that felt good, coming from him). It was then that I should drive and "go up strong" near the hoop because defenders would not be suspecting a drive. Building this skill is a major basketball goal for me. It's easy to rely on the outside shot, but as one commentator said, teams "live or die by the outside." If you miss, you open your team up to the defensive rebound. And nothing feels worse than having the other team score from the rebound they made as a result of your missed shot.

On that positive note, I'll see you tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by.

George

geocas@aol.com or georgecassutto@hotmail.com

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The seated military press works biceps but really concentrates on the deltoids, or shoulders.

By doing this move on a stability ball, you work your core, or abs, as well as your extremities. Try three sets of increasing weight until you can only do five reps until failure.

Exercise Two: Military Press.

One of the most noticeable aspects of college and pro basketball players is the size of their deltoid muscles, a.k.a. shoulders. Why develop strong delts for the basketball court?

To provide strength on the drive to the hoop,
To do damage to the offense setting the pick or screen,
To outreach your competition for rebounds and passes.
To put distance on passes that sometimes need to go the length of the court or get through heavy traffic in the paint.

Well-defined deltoids also give definition to the bicep muscle, which is attached to it at the top of the arm.

Note the deltoid definition on
Miami Heat superstar
Dwayne wade.