Getting Shots Up
A solo workout system from the Covid era
I slept terribly last night for no discernible reason, so I am exceptionally groggy this morning and having a hard time waking up enough to do the class prep things I need to do before the Spring 2025 term starts on Monday. So I’m going to try typing out something that requires Very Little Brain, and see if that wakes me up.
Back in the worst of the Covid lockdowns when everything was closed, I was staving off cabin fever by doing a lot of bicycling, which was okay but also didn’t do any favors for my arms and back. My usual whole-body exercise is playing pick-up basketball, which was obviously Right Out in mid-2020; we have since acquired a hoop that sits in the driveway for The Pip and his buddies, but at the time we didn’t have one, and as a 49-year-old I didn’t feel like I could go ask one of the neighbors to use their driveway hoop.
It took several months before it occurred to me that while I couldn’t get into the gym on campus, it was perfectly reasonable to go to one of the many local parks with outdoor courts and just shoot baskets for a while. I think technically these were still supposed to be closed— at least, there was still a rapidly fading sign up— but nobody official gave a shit. I ended up settling into a routine of going to one particular park (which had double rims, alas, but did not have Canada geese shitting all over the court like the park with better rims), and have stuck with getting some shots up as an occasional workout option when the regular pick-up game isn’t available.
Just shooting idly doesn’t tend to be that much exercise, though, so I’ve had to devise rules to force myself to actually expend significant energy on this. And since I’m looking for low-Brain writing topics, I’ll explain the routine here.
Rule 1: Every shot ends up in the net. No, I’m not looking for a FG% in triple digits; it’s just a reminder to rebound. If I miss a shot, I have to track down the rebound and score it before I can do the next shot that counts toward whatever I’m doing. (This is actually the key to my game when we can play for real— I make a living off taking 18-footers then crashing the offensive boards for a second crack at the ones I miss…)
This rule is to some degree an extension of the moderately common basketball superstition that you don’t walk off the court on a miss. A corollary to it is that the final shot of any prescribed type has to be a make (see below).
Rule 2: Circuit around the lane. As a warm-up and then after finishing whatever sequence of things I’m working on but before getting a drink (or quitting for the day), I make myself run through a particular pattern of shots around the paint:
One made Mikan-drill layup with each hand
One made shot from each block
One made shot from halfway up the lane on each side
One made shot from each elbow
At least three made free throws (subject to Rule 3)
All of these are subject to Rule 1— if I miss an elbow jumper, I have to put the rebound in before I can take the next one that counts). This automatically means ending on a made shot.
Rule 3: Minimum five to make three. When I’m practicing shots from a particular spot, I have to make at least three shots, but also have to shoot at least five. So even if I make the first three, I have to keep going for two more, and, per Rule 1, end on a made shot of that type.
So, for example, at the end of the Rule 2 circuit I’m usually 3-5 or 4-5 on free throws, but sometimes it’s 4-7 or 5-9 (or an absolutely maddening 3-10, as happened the other day).
After that, it’s about practicing specific shots from specific spots, generally things I’m likely to use in a game. At a minimum, I’ll do pull-up jumpers from both elbows (starting either at the top of the key or out on the wing); time permitting I do midrange jumpers from both wings and both baselines (our lunchtime pickup game is all one-point baskets, so there’s no benefit to actually being behind the three-point line) in both pull-up (dribble to the spot then shoot quickly) and old-guy mode (starting from rest like a catch-and-shoot).
This is where Rule 1 really comes into play, because getting some of the rebounds can involve quite a bit of running. Especially from the baseline, if I miss long. My shooting percentage from the baseline really took a hit during Covid because I dropped that shot from the routine, since the park I was shooting in has trees right next to the court, and I got sick of having to retrieve missed shots from the woods, or from the ditch on the other side of the court.
During the Covid lockdowns when I couldn’t play for real (or if I feel like being weirdly hard-core) I would also throw in drives from various spots, or add complications to Rule 1 put-backs (must be a lefty lay-up, or must go under the rim and make it from the other side). When I’m just killing an hour in the gym because we didn’t have enough to play pick-up, though, I usually stick to spot shooting.
Has this improved my game in any notable way? Probably not (more shots would help— 10 to make 6 or 25 to make 15— but I’m a college professor in my mid-fifties, not an up-and-coming prospect), though it has at least kept it from getting worse during extended stretches of no hoops. Systematizing and gamifying it in this manner works to push me into getting a decent workout by myself in the gym (or park), though, and that’s the main goal.
Final important element: As noted above, I’m a white guy in my mid-fifties, so the sountrack for all this is the Hold Steady, either on a small Bluetooth speaker (out in the park) or on earbuds (in the gym on campus). So, here you go:
If I was being really canny about this, I’d tease it and then charge $5 for the full program. But, again, fiftysomething college professor, not in need of a(nother) side hustle. Though if you really want to give me $5, that’s an option if you click this button:
And if you want to suggest alternatives or elaborations or just call me a huge dork, the comments will be open:
And now I’m at least awake enough to do some actual work…
I wonder how successful people were at starting healthy habits during covid, compared to, say, new years resolutions. I know the bike industry boomed* with people looking for an outlet. I get the sense that the number of people riding has tapered back off, though. But I was part of that boom, and I'm still riding 2-3 days a week! Including a couple of 50 mile trail rides so far this year.
*That boom is still going through aftershocks, as increased demand and constrained supply caused shortages and price hikes, then manufacturers misjudged demand and wound up with an oversupply and significant cuts, and have been yo-yoing ever since.