Basketball

By its nature, basketball is an intermittent-exercise sport (with pauses between one play and the next) and, like other team sports, it is therefore considered an alternating aerobic and anaerobic activity. The effort, besides running, involves sprints, changes of speed and so-called “defensive slides” (torso bent and legs used to stop the attacker); it is of medium intensity (for amateurs, the majority of players) and medium energy expenditure (considering the intensity and duration of the effort).

A basketball player, whether a professional or a simple Sunday amateur, has individual energy needs that depend on his or her physiology and on the duration and intensity of training.

To have long-lasting energy (a training session lasts, on average, an hour and a half and a game 40 minutes of actual play, for a total that is also an hour and a half) you need COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES (pasta, rice, bread, potatoes, etc.) and FATS (extra virgin olive oil, oily fish, nuts). To be reactive, you need well-built but elastic muscles, so you need PROTEIN of high biological value (meat, fish, eggs, legumes together with grains, and cheese), which will also be useful for the structural rebuilding of all the tissues worn down by the effort, especially muscle tissue. To get oxygen where it is needed and to make the muscles work well, you will need a good concentration of trace elements (iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, etc.) as well as a good supply of vitamins.

Meal times are fundamental and must also be chosen according to training and game times. The “three-hour rule” (having the last meal before physical activity 3 hours before the start) does not always work. In fact, you have to consider the metabolic and digestive capacity of the individual body; we are not all the same in this respect: even though the human species is governed by biological processes that are the same for everyone (like digestion), the individuality of each person must not be overlooked. The digestive system needs a lot or a little time to digest certain foods. What is certain is that you should never start exercising while digestion is under way.

This would compromise both digestion itself, with the possibility of unpleasant effects (cramps and sluggishness after eating), and athletic performance: digestion draws a lot of blood to the organs responsible for it, depriving the muscles of the oxygen they need in the aerobic phase. Practically a disaster!

In short, the right diet for a basketball player will be very different from that of a runner or a swimmer. Recovery is essential, as is maintaining weight and muscle mass.