HIIT THE COURT’s Mission, Vision, and Values
Mission
Elevate your wellbeing through basketball
Vision
A world filled with local communities of hoopers who continue to get healthier, gain confidence in themselves, and feel connected to each other beyond basketball.
Values
Hoop - The act of playing basketball, encompassing the skills, movements, and overall experience of the sport.
Sweat - The physical exertion and effort put into high intensity interval training and playing basketball, representing the active pursuit of health and fitness goals.
Connect - The fostering of relationships and a sense of community among participants. It implies building social bonds, creating a supportive environment, and establishing a shared sense of belonging.
Wellbeing - The state of being comfortable, healthy, and happy. It encompasses physical, mental, and social aspects of a person’s life.
The HIIT THE COURT story
Hi 👋 my name is Gaurav Nihalani but most people call me either “G” or “Coach G.” I grew up all over the world and played many sports but fell in love with the game of basketball 🏀 when my family moved to California in the year 2000. Throughout my youth, you could always find me with a ball in my hands either shooting around alone, convincing friends to play pick up, or playing organized ball for my school.
After college, I moved back home with my parents and landed a desk job as a marketer in the tech space. I kept my hoop dreams alive through a weekly pick up game with friends and coaching youth AAU basketball. Life was good as I had a great job, was hooping and hanging out with friends, and giving back to the community through the game I love ❤️
A few years later, everything changed. I moved to San Francisco for work and my knee started flaring up anytime I tried to play. Just like that, I was in a new city and I was unable to build a new basketball network because I couldn’t play 😔
But I wasn’t going to let that stop me! I did my research and I landed a coaching job with the premier San Francisco AAU organization, Bay City Basketball, and I started a life-long journey to build my body back to playing pain free basketball 💪🏾
Over the next 10+ years 🗓️ I coached and trained over 1000 athletes while coaching nearly as many games at the AAU and Varsity High School level. I also started working with doctors, physical therapists, trainers, yogis, and other athletes to learn how to get back to playing pain free basketball. Through that journey, I learned a lot about the body, healing, and the countless specific things I could improve to play pain free again.
This led to the creation of a series of workout programs that I use to play the game I love without pain! ⛹🏾 By focusing on mobility through a full range of motion, lengthening and strengthening, time under tension, and plyometric concepts - I now play weekly, sometimes daily, without the pain that I once suffered due to a history of injuries, lack of knowledge, and sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day 5 days a week.
Although the exercises I learned and implemented in my own training over the past 10 years have allowed me to return to do what I love, they have also been isolating and rarely involve a basketball in my hands. What it made me realize is that working out is just more fun with other people and with a ball in your hands 🏋🏾🏀⛹🏾. I looked around and saw that this concept doesn’t exist in San Francisco. Then I realized, I literally have the knowledge, ability, connections, and experience to start this.
So I decided to start my own group fitness class that ties these 3 concepts together:
Exercises focused on mobility through full range of motion, lengthening and strengthening muscles, time under tension, and plyometrics
Working out in a group
Working out with a ball in your hands
This is the genesis of HIIT THE COURT.
The HIIT THE COURT experience is a custom tailored 1-hour group fitness class that targets all planes of movement, builds functional strength, increases cardiovascular and plyometric capacity, and develops individual and team skills to keep you on the court while pushing you to be more fit and skilled than yesterday. The program works for people at any point in their basketball and fitness journeys. These are the same exercises I use for my own fitness, for training athletes of all ages and skill levels, and it even works with senior citizens (like my mom and her friends!) by modifying the approach depending on the person. In any one class, you will see different people doing the same exercise in the way that is best for where they are at. I make sure to modify exercises based on the unique needs of each person even in a large and fast paced group class. This is why HIIT THE COURT is a great program for you if you’re looking to improve your level of fitness, be a part of an awesome local basketball community, and develop your skills while having fun working out with a basketball in your hands! So whether you’re just a casual basketball fan or you played at a high level and want to get back in basketball shape, HIIT THE COURT is for YOU 🫵
Ready to HIIT the court?
Jump in and level up your game while having a ball! Our high-energy workout is perfect for all skill and fitness levels. Designed by a basketball coach and trainer, you'll move across all planes of movement, get more comfortable with the ball in your hands, hit some big shots for your squad, and have a lot of fun doing it.
*The classes contain no 1on1 to 5on5 live competition and do not teach defense. The classes are rather a carefully structured mix of exercises, drills, and contests. You must be 18 years of age or older to participate.