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Building strength, balance, power and grace from within

 

Warm-up 

       PREVENT INJURIES!                     PERFORM BETTER!

One of the most important training tricks is to perform a proper warm-up prior to activity. Whether you are a figure skater, dancer, hockey player, pianist or vocalist, you need to warm-up. If you are a coach or parent, it is imperitive that you teach your child the importance of a complete warm-up.

Warm-ups should be completed before ALL practices and events.

Warm-ups should take 10-15 minutes

General Warm-up-First! 

Why?

  • Increases tissue temperatures throughout the body
  • Increases blood flow to muscles in preparation for exercise
  • Prevents injury by allowing a gradual entrance into activity

What?

  • Jog
  • Bike
  • Side stepping
  • Lunge walks
  • Back Pedaling
  • Ankle/hip rotations
  • Other light aerobic exercise

How?

  • Use warm-ups to build teamwork
  • Keep motions slow and unidirectional at first, progressing to complex movement patterns

Pre-Stretch (next) 

Though it is universally accepted that limited flexibility can lead to injuries, there is quite a bit of controversy as to whether it is beneficial to stretch prior to exercise. If flexibility is necessary to safely perform a skill in your sport, I believe it is better to perform gentle sport specific stretches both actively and passively.

Why?

  • Stretching warms-up deep muscle fibers
  • Increases muscle length to improve ability to safely perform necessary skills
  • Lubricates and warms up synovial fluid which reduces friction in the body
  • Increases respiratory rate (breathing) and heart rate
  • Aids in the prevention on acute injuries
  • Decreases post career pain by maintaining range of motion in all joints
  • Develops body awareness in developing athletes

How?

  • Following a proper warm-up (above)
  • Static Stretches (hold 20-45s) as necessary for sport
  • Gentle Dynamic Stretch (high kicks)
  • Use good posture during all stretches
  • Concentrate on stretch and body rather than socialize
  • Begin focusing on practice/event
  • Exhale to stretch/Inhale to relax...restretch
  • 5 minutes

Post-stretches

Sport Specific Warm-Up Last 

Take approximately 5 minutes to perform exercises which utilize the specific muscles required in sport. A coach or trainer can help design a great warm-up.

Sample Warm-Ups 

Warm-ups figure skaters

Dynamic Warm-ups for figure skaters

Sasha Cohen's warm up plug

 

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