The Human Edition 1 | Page 19

Basketball &

your Heart By John Bosquez

is a sport where the body is pushed by all the physical activity, which in turn gives your body more endurance and the ability to maneuver at a fast rate of speed. Overall, basketball has an 82 game season and over that time period, a NBA player will run eight marathons, which in turn gives them high endurance, explaining why basketball is considered a cardio sport.

Everyone who has ever played a game of basketball knows all the hard work that goes into it. There are numerous drills that go along with the game that increase your speed and endurance. In basketball you are constantly moving and allowing your heart rate to keep moving up at a controlled rate ; meaning that in the long term , it keeps you healthier.

Some workouts that one may chose to do can be basketball drills. A drill that is quite famous is to dribble the ball through cones set at different points on the court. Another workout that may be done is just running the court, which is just running from one end of the court to the other while dribbling the ball. This sport has many other workouts that involve running and jumping moreover to improve ones basketball skills and cardio.You can play basketball anywhere and everywhere as long as you have a ball and basketball court. If you want the best cardio workout , basketball will allow you to do just that and then some.

For those who constantly play basketball, have you ever wondered how basketball and cardio exist in each others worlds? Basketball can be considered a good cardio workout, because basketball is a highly active sport that can raise the heart rate and keep it raised for a long amount of time, which keeps the body healthy. This allows the body to burn fat and create muscle mass.

Yes, cardio is a boring activity to do, because we get tired of the same cardio activity so then we try to avoid the workout all together. However, cardio workouts are extremely important in improving your endurance in achieving healthy physique. According to Jamie Michelle, a personal trainer that gives cardio workout tips, “... basketball is not a distance sport in terms of the duration of activity or exertion. In fact, it is quite different than what is required of a distance runner. Instead basketball consists of short bursts of activity and energy over a long period of time.” As one can see basketball can and may suffice to an extraneous cardio workout that will help you become healthier.