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Warm-Up

It is extremely important that you perform the general warm-up BEFORE you stretch. Warming up can do more than just loosen stiff muscles; when done properly, it can actually improve performance. On the other hand, an improper warm-up, or no warm-up at all, can greatly increase your risk of injury from engaging in athletic activities.

General Warm-Up
The general warm-up is divided into two parts:

  1. joint rotations
  2. aerobic activity

 

These two activities should be performed in the order specified above.
 

  1. Joint Rotations
    The general warm-up should begin with joint-rotations, starting either from your toes and working your way up, or from your fingers and working your way down. This facilitates joint motion by lubricating the entire joint with synovial fluid. Such lubrication permits your joints to function more easily when called upon to participate in your athletic activity. You should perform slow circular movements, both clockwise and counter-clockwise, until the joint seems to move smoothly. You should rotate the following joints (in the order given, or in the reverse order): fingers and knuckles, wrists, elbows, shoulders, neck, trunk/waist, hips, legs, knees, ankles, and toes.

 

  1. Aerobic Activity
    After you have performed the joint rotations, you should engage in at least five minutes of aerobic activity such as jogging, jumping rope, line hops, form running (high knees, butt-kicks, carioca, backpedal, shuffle, etc.), or any other activity that will raise your core body temperature and get your blood flowing. Increased blood flow in the muscles improves muscle performance and flexibility and reduces the likelihood of injury.
     
Warm-Up Stretching
 

Static Stretching
Once the general warm-up has been completed, the muscles are warmer and more elastic. Immediately following your general warm-up, you should engage in some slow, relaxed, static stretching. You should start with your back, followed by your upper body and lower body, stretching your muscles in the following order: back, sides (external obliques), neck, forearms and wrists, triceps, chest, buttocks, groin (adductors), thighs (quadriceps and abductors), calves, shins, hamstrings, and instep.

Dynamic Stretching
Once you have performed your static stretches, you should engage in some light dynamic stretching: leg-raises, and arm-swings in all directions. Remember -- this is just a warm-up, the real workout comes later.

Sport-Specific Activity
The last part of your warm-up should be devoted to performing movements that are a "watered-down" version of the movements that you will be performing during your athletic activity. The Health for Life Training Advisor says that the last phase of a warm-up should consist of the same movements that will be used during the athletic event but at a reduced intensity. Such sport-specific activity is beneficial because it improves coordination, balance, strength, and response time, and may reduce the risk of injury.

 

STATIC STRETCHING








 

DYNAMIC STRETCHING

Dynamic stretching is good for “waking muscles up” to get them ready to work hard. This involves moving your limbs through the full range of motion that they will be used in during the game or training. Gradually increase the range of the movement over a series of repetitions. Do not force movements or lose control of the movement. Repeat the following examples about 12 times - you may need to do more or less than this number depending on how tight your muscles feel. This period should take about 3-5 minutes.


Leg swings forward and back
Gluteals, hamstrings, hip flexors

  • Hold on to a solid object and balance on one leg
  • Swing the other leg forwards to a comfortable height ensuring that your trunk and lower back stay rigid and do not bend.
  • Then swing the leg back, again ensuring that there is minimal movement in the back.
  • Change legs and repeat.
  • Swing to a height that suits your flexibility.
  • Forcing the leg high by swinging too hard may result in injury.

 

 

Leg swings side to side
Hamstrings, adductors

  • Hold on to a solid object and balance on one leg.
  • Turn your foot on the leg you are balancing on outwards.
  • Swing that leg away from the body turning the foot to point at the sky.
  • Then swing the leg across the body pointing the toes in the direction your leg is moving.
  • Check that you are minimizing the amount of movement through your lower back.

 

 

Hurdle step-overs
Gluteals, adductors

  • Hold on to a solid object and stand with one leg slightly further back than the other.
  • Lift the back leg knee high and then rotate leg outwards and step down.
  • Then reverse the movement by rotating the leg outwards then taking the knee night to the front.
  • Return to the start position. Check that you are minimizing truck movement.
  • Alternate legs and repeat

 

 

Lower leg calf raises
Calves (soleus and gastrocnemius)

  • Start with your body in a push-up position, with your feet side by side.
  • Support your weight with your hands and feet.
  • Start stretching your calves by pushing one heel towards the ground then onto the ball of the foot and then back again.
  • Alternate between legs.

 

 

Upper body trunk rotation
Trunk muscles - abdominals, back and chest

  • Stand with the back straight and knees slightly bent.
  • Start swinging your body at waist height - you should feel this mostly in your lower back.
  • Move your arms higher to around shoulder height to feel a stretch through the middle back.
  • Now raise your arms to above your head to feel the stretch higher in the back.
  • If you find any tight areas do extra repetitions without forcing the movement. In this exercise you should concentrate more on gradually increasing the range of movement rather than the speed of movement.

 

 

Bent over upper body rotation
Trunk muscles - abdominals, back and chest, adductors, hamstrings

  • Bend at the hips so that your lower back still keeps its natural inward curve - you might need to bend your knees a little.
  • Rotate the trunk and arms to reach towards the opposite toe while bending that leg.
  • Alternate sides.
  • Reach as low as your flexibility allows - its not necessary to touch the toes if you can't reach that low.

 


 

 

Arm circles
Muscles around the shoulder

  • Stand with the back straight and knees slightly bent.
  • Swing both your arms around in circles starting with small circles progressing towards larger ones.
  • Circles should be done both forwards and backwards.
  • If you find tightness in an area, spend more time working on that area to loosen it up.
     




The information above has been taken from Brad Appleton's Stretching and Flexibility: Everything you never wanted to know. Copyright © 1993-1998 by Bradford D. Appleton. Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this document at no charge or at a charge that covers reproducing the cost of the copies, provided that the copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved on all copies. (Some text formatting has been altered on this document to provide emphases where deemed necessary. Links to additional information have also been added.)