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Training – Warm up guidelines

To help you deliver an effective warm up please consider the following

Aims & Objectives
Identify what you want to achieve from your session and design your warm up to prepare
the participants mentally and physically for the tasks ahead.
Ensure the warm up reduces the risk of injury

The warm up activities are a crucial part of any exercise regime or sports training. The importance of a structured warm up routine should not be under estimated when it comes to the prevention of sports injury.
An effective warm up has a number of very important key elements. These elements, or parts, should all be working together to minimize the likelihood of sports injury from physical activity.
Warming up prior to any physical activity does a number of beneficial things, but primarily its main purpose is to prepare the body and mind for more strenuous activity. One of the ways it achieves this is by helping to increase the body’s core temperature, while also increasing the body’s muscle temperature. By increasing muscle temperature you’re helping to make the muscles loose, supple and pliable.
An effective warm up also has the effect of increasing both your heart rate and your respiratory rate. This increases blood flow, which in turn increases the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the working muscles. All this helps to prepare the muscles, tendons and joints for more strenuous activity.

Structure
Keep in mind the aims or goals of an effective warm up, we can then go on to look at how
the warm up should be structured


Obviously, it’s important to start with the easiest and most gentle activity first, building upon each part with more energetic activities, until the body is at a physical and mental peak. This is the state in which the body is most prepared for the physical activity to come, and where the likelihood of sports injury has been minimized as much as possible. So, how should you structure your warm up to achieve these goals?
The key elements, or parts, which should be included to ensure an effective and complete warm up are:

  1. The general warm up
  2. The sports specific warm up
  3. Stabilizing the heart rate
  4. Stretching

All four parts are equally important and any one part should not be neglected or thought of as not necessary. All four elements work together to bring the body and mind to a physical peak, ensuring the athlete is prepared for the activity to come. This process will help ensure the athlete has a minimal risk of sports injury.

Let’s have a look at each element individually.

1.) General warm up/mobilization
The general warm up should consist of a light physical activity. Both the intensity and duration of the general warm up (or how hard and how long), should be governed by the fitness level of the participating athlete. Although a correct general warm up for the average person should take about five to ten minutes and result in a light sweat.
The aim of the general warm up is simply to elevate the heart rate and respiratory rate. This in turn increases the blood flow and helps with the transportation of oxygen and nutrients to the working muscles. This also helps to increase the muscle temperature, allowing for a more effective stretch.

2.) Sport specific warm up
 With the first part of the warm up carried out thoroughly and correctly, it is now safe to move onto the second part of an effective warm up. In this part, the athlete is specifically preparing their body for the demands of their particular sport. During this part of the warm up, more vigorous activity should be employed. Activities should reflect the type of movements and actions which will be required during the sporting event.

3.) Stabilizing the heart rate
It is essential to stabilize the heart rate before moving into the stretch, this reduces the risk of light headedness or fainting, if you simply stop a high intensity activity the heart rate will drop too quickly, the breathing and heart rate needs to be under control before coming to a full stop. Reduce the intensity slowly, take out aerobic activity and replace with power movements that use lots of major muscle groups. For Example squats and arm circles.

4.) Stretching
 Static stretching is a very safe and effective form of basic stretching. There is a limited threat of injury and it is extremely beneficial for overall flexibility. During this part of the warm up, static stretching should include all the major muscle groups, and this entire part should last for about five to ten minutes.

Static stretching is performed by placing the body into a position whereby the muscle, or group of muscles to be stretched is under tension. Both the opposing muscle group (the muscles behind or in front of the stretched muscle), and the muscles to be stretched are relaxed. Then slowly and cautiously the body is moved to increase the tension of the muscle, or group of muscles to be stretched. At this point the position is held or maintained to allow the muscles and tendons to lengthen.

This part of an effective warm up is extremely important, as it helps to lengthen both the muscles and tendons which in turn allows your limbs a greater range of movement. This is very important in the prevention of muscle and tendon injuries.

Stretching is one of the most under-utilized techniques for improving athletic performance, preventing sports injury and properly rehabilitating sprain and strain injury. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that something as simple as stretching won’t be effective.