18 Mar Why not hoop it up today?

The weather’s getting nicer just in time for the annual spring rite of passage known as March Madness.
You know, the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament, which opened today for the field of 64. If you haven’t filled out a bracket at one time or another at school, the office or among friends, then chances are you know someone who has.
The No. 1 seeds this year are Kansas, Syracuse, Kentucky and Duke.

If you’re looking to change your workout up a little bit and haven’t played basketball in a long time, why not dig the ball out of a closet, pump some air back into it and go hit the court.
I certainly wouldn’t recommend jumping into a 5-on-5 game right away if it’s been a while since you’ve handled the rock, but here are four fun ways to get a basketball workout in:

1. Shoot-a-round – Just get the ball, warm up a little and shoot baskets by yourself. If you haven’t played in a while, you’ll probably get a decent workout just by chasing down your errant shots. This will help break up the grind of your usual workout program.

2. Play “Around the world” – Start with a layup, then make a shot from each spot around the perimeter. Start with the baseline, go to the right wing, top of the key, left, wing and finally the other baseline, Then, end it with another layup.
You can go around the world by yourself, or play against a friend or relative, alternating turns. When we used to play this, we’d also have a “chance” where after a miss we got a second shot in a row to make it, but had to go back to the beginning if we missed.

3. Play “P-I-G” (or for the longer version play H-O-R-S-E) – Most people know what this game is. The first player makes a shot and the next person in line has to duplicate it or else they get a letter. The first one to spell out PIG or HORSE loses, To really throw off the other guy (or girl) call swish or bank.

4. Play “One-on-one” – Find a buddy to play one-on-one against. You’ll get a more brisk workout, but it won’t be as tough as running up and down in a full-court game.

Make sure you stretch out well before and after- and start out slow!

Now go enjoy the March Madness – both the games on TV and your own basketball experience on a local court. By the way, my two national champion picks on brackets I filled out are Kentucky and West Virginia.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com