Basketball 简介： 

　　Basketball, the ultimate in team sports（最典型的集体运动）, can be played indoors and out, on a court or in the park. It doesn’t cost a lot to play, it isn’t complicated, and once you know how to play it, you can hang a hoop¹（设置一个篮圈） just about anywhere.

Starting Out 开始吧！ 

　　Basketball is a pretty simple game once you know a few rules. After you’ve learned the basic skills, you can walk up to any court and join a spontaneous pickup² game（加入自发组织的一场比赛中去）.

Target areas 锻炼效果：

　　Basketball is a good cardiovascular exercise（心血管锻炼） and is great for building muscular endurance（耐力）. Since the game requires a lot of starting, stopping and sprinting³, it helps strengthen the lower body（下肢）, especially the quadriceps（四头肌）, hamstrings（腿筋）, gluteus muscles（臀肌） and calves⁴（小腿）. Dribbling⁵（带球） and shooting（投篮） develop muscles in the arms and shoulders. Obviously, the fitness benefits increase with the pace of the game（很显然，锻炼效果随运动节奏的加快而增加）.

Other pluses 附加效果：

　　Shooting hoops⁶（投篮） increases your energy（体力）, stamina⁷（耐力） and coordination⁸（协调能力） and thus can make other aerobic⁹ activities, such as walking, running and in-line skating, easier（因此，能够使其它有氧健身运动更容易）. Also, the goal of scoring motivates players, because they forget they’re exercising（得高分的目的激励着打球者，使他们忘记正在进行锻炼）.

The Warm-Up and Cool-Down 热身动作和结束动作： 

　　Before you start shooting hoops（投篮）, walk or bike to the court（球场） and spend a few minutes taking practice throws（练习掷球） or passing the ball around to your teammates（或给同伴们传球）. It takes five to 10 minutes to warm up your muscles, get your heart rate elevated（心跳加快） and break a sweat (a sign that you’re ready to proceed). After the game, take time to cool down（平静下来）: Allow your heart rate to descend¹⁰ gradually（逐渐减缓） by strolling around the court（绕球场漫步） or walking home（步行回家）.

　　Be sure to stretch the following major muscle groups after you warm up （确保使以下的肌肉在热身后得到伸展）to prevent injury and again after exercising（锻炼后也是如此） to promote flexibility¹¹（以便提高柔韧性） and prevent soreness（避免酸痛）:Biceps(二头肌), Calves(小腿), Gluteus muscles(臀肌) (a.k.a.（又叫作...） glutes), Hamstrings(腿筋), Quadriceps(四头肌) (a.k.a. (又叫做) quads), Triceps(三头肌) .