Whether you’re suiting up for game day or hitting the court for an intense training, skipping your warm-up is like playing street ball with rugby players, it’s risky and increases your likelihood of being injured. Research shows that athletes who follow structured neuromuscular activation routines, such as the ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿ Game Ready Activation, experience significantly fewer injuries, such as muscle strains and ankle sprains. The best part? It only takes 5-10 minutes to not only reduce your risk of injury but also boost your performance.

Why Activating Matters
Basketball is a fast-paced, high-intensity sport that has very large physical demands. These include rapid changes of pace, abrupt changes of direction (often at speed), and explosive movements, such as max effort jumping. These dynamic actions put immense stress on the muscles, tendons, and joints, particularly the hips, knees, ankles, and hamstrings. Without proper physical preparation, athletes are significantly more vulnerable to strains, sprains, and other preventable injuries.
That’s where the Game Ready Activation comes in, not just as a routine, but as a crucial performance and injury prevention tool.

The Science of Activating (Warming Up) for Basketball
Activating/warming up benefits athletes in several ways prior to playing. These benefits include increased blood flow to working muscles, enhanced core body temperature, and an activated neuromuscular system (mind-muscle connection). This physiological shift enhances muscle elasticity and joint range of motion, both essential for powerful and safe movement on the court. It also primes coordination, balance, and proprioception (your body’s awareness of positioning), all of which are critical for reactive sports like basketball.
So, if you are to skip this process, it doesn’t just limit performance; it increases the risk of injury. Research shows that teams and athletes who use structured warm-up programs see a 50-60% reduction in soft tissue injuries (Sople & Wilcox, 2025).

What Makes an Effective Warm-Up?

A solid basketball warm-up should include:

• Strength (e.g., planks, squats, lunges, and RDLs)
  • This will create a strong mind-muscle connection, leading to enhanced neuromuscular activation
• Movement (e.g., dynamic mobility, jump/land mechanics)
  • Movement can be thought of as the middle ground between neuromuscular activation and basketball specific movements
• Basketball Specific (e.g., movements that are directly mirrored in a game)
  • This includes defensive slides, rapid changes of direction, and sudden accelerations and decelerations

Keep it simple to begin with. Start slow and build intensity, ensuring we emphasise quality over quantity for each movement. Once we master these movements is when we can challenge ourselves further. How would you progress a squat?

Bottom Line
Warm-ups are more than a just a time filler before games or trainings, they are your injury insurance policy and performance primer. Whether you’re a weekend warrior or elite athlete, integrating a structured activation routine, such as the Game Ready Activation into every session can keep you healthier for longer, helping you play harder now, and stay in the game for many seasons to come.