JR Smith is a professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He’s one of the best players in the league, and he was drafted back in 2004. He was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2013, and has won an NBA Championship with the Cavs in 2016. Smith has been playing basketball his entire life and is part of a family of basketball players (his father, his brother, and his sister all played professional basketball).
In a blog on Medium, he shares some tips on how you can become an athletic player. Here are seven tips from JR Smith on how you can be a better athlete:
1. Staying healthy and injury-free is one of the most important things to do if you want to be an athletic player. I’ve had several injuries throughout my career, but I always try to play through them and get back on the court as soon as possible. This means that sometimes I’ll play hurt or even when I’m injured, but it’s worth it because I know how much this team needs me out there!**
2. You need to stay hydrated before games so your body doesn’t cramp up during play time (or practice). Drink plenty of water throughout the day to keep yourself from feeling tired or getting
JR Smith, who has been around the block and back in his 13 years in the NBA, has pretty much seen and done it all. He’s been a Sixth Man of the Year, an All-Star, and won an NBA title. He’s also seen his fair share of ups and downs, as well. Now entering his second season with the Cavaliers, JR is looking to build on a solid season a year ago. But at age 30, he’s also looking to stay healthy while playing as many games as possible.
So, how does he do it? Here are seven tips from JJ himself:
I have had the privilege of being an athlete for a long time. I’ve had my ups and downs with injuries, but I’ve learned a lot along the way. I’ve learned how to stay in shape and stay healthy, which is key to playing sports at any level.
Here are seven tips on how you can stay in shape—a healthy body means less injury.
1. Get your body right: The best way to stay healthy is by making sure you get your body right every day. It’s important that you don’t overwork yourself because your muscles will become tired and sore. This can lead to injuries and other problems.
2. Eat well: Your body needs fuel to perform at its best, so make sure you eat a healthy diet that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables as well as protein from lean meats like chicken breast or turkey breast.
3. Drink water throughout the day: Water helps your muscles recover after exercise and also helps with digestion so make sure you drink plenty during training sessions and games!
Becoming an athletic player is a process that started with my dad teaching me the game of basketball at a young age. I didn’t really have much interest in it at first, but once I started playing and got better, he made me go to the gym to work out when I wasn’t practicing. That’s how I got into it.
As you get older, you start to understand that you can’t just be in great shape for one game or one season—you want to be able to compete at your best for as long as possible. Having a routine that works for you and sticking with it is key.
Here are some things I make sure to do on a regular basis:
1. Eat right: Avoid alcohol, fatty foods and desserts before games. Drink plenty of fluids during the day.
2. Work out: Do 30 minutes of cardio before a game and lift weights twice a week to develop strength and explosiveness
3. Avoid injury: Focus on core and ankle strength to prevent injury (this is what JR credits for his staying healthy)
4. Get enough rest: Sleep at least 8 hours every night
5. Stay positive: Never allow yourself to get down on yourself, your team or your coach
6. Be mentally focused: Be mentally ready for every game, do not underestimate any opponent
7. Take care of your body: Ice tubs are great for recovery and avoiding injury
1. Stay away from caffeine
This is my main thing. I have to drink my water, have to stay hydrated. I’ve been blessed to be injury-free, knock on wood. You see a lot of people who take in too much caffeine and it dehydrates them. They get headaches, cramps, muscle pulls and a bunch of other stuff that could be prevented.
2. Eat right during the season
The hardest thing for me is eating healthy when we’re on the road. We’re at the hotel six or seven nights out of the week and if you want healthy food you’re going to have to pay extra money and room service always charges you extra money anyway so you might as well just get whatever you want since they’re already charging you an arm and a leg for it. On top of that, when we go out to eat, everything is fried because that’s what tastes good.
3. Lift weights throughout the season
I started lifting weights in December when I got traded from Denver here to New York and I’ve been doing it ever since — chest, shoulders, abs — trying to keep my body strong so that I can withstand all these grinds of 82 games plus playoffs and then national team play in the summertime. I
1. Eat Right
This is a no brainer. If you are going to be an athlete, you have to eat right. This means cutting out the junk food and eating healthy foods that work with your body instead of against it. Meats, vegetables, whole grains, and fruits will do wonders for your body as well as getting in its recommended daily amounts of water. A great way to monitor what you are eating is by keeping track of your calories. This can be done with calorie-counting applications or websites where you can input everything you eat and drink throughout the day and it will give you a total to let you know if you are under or over your recommended daily intake of calories.