In today’s blog Kevin Hartigan BSc. Physio, MISCP discusses the benefits of stretching and why it is vital to add a solid warm up to your workout. Included below is a recommended video and a PDF from (Clinical sports medicine Brukner and Khan 2012 for added explanation).
Why Bother?
Doing a warm up prior to exercise, training or games can greatly reduce the risk of an injury, prepare you mentally and physically, while also improving performance and enjoyment levels.
What Are The Key Benefits?
Some of the key benefits of a good warm up include:
-
- increasing blood flow to muscles
- increasing oxygen and energy release in muscles
- increasing nerve speeds to muscles
- decreased stiffness of joints & connective tissues
- increased relaxation and concentration
- all leading to……….reduced risk of injuries!!!
Components Of A Good Warm
So, how do you complete an effective warm up? A good warm-up up routine should follow the RAMP framework:
- Raise
- Activate and Mobilise
- Performance
Phase 1 – Raise
The aim of the ‘raise’ section is to:
- Raise/ Increase Body temperature
- Raise/ Increase Heart rate
- Raise/ Increase Breathing rate
- Raise/ Increase Blood flow to muscles
- Increase Joint flexibility
You can do this in any way you want to, with your goal being to break into a sweat after about 10 minutes. Start slow and gradually build up the intensity. Example exercises are:
- Jogging, cycling, skipping, etc
Phase 2 – Activate and Mobilise
The aim of this phase of the warm-up is to:
- Wake up the major joints used in the sport / activity
- Wake up the key muscle groups
Example activation and mobilisation movements include:
- Squats
- Lunges
- Balance work
- Planks
- Running drills
- Mini band routines
Phase 3 –Performance
The aim of this phase is to ‘prime’ you for the movements /activities involved in your session or sport. This part of the warm up should be focused on exercises which directly mimic your activity or sport, serving two primary objectives:
- Increase the intensity to a comparable level to which you are about to compete in.
- Improve subsequent performance
Therefore, the content of the performance phase depends very much on the sport activity you are preparing for.
So, for some examples:
Example 1: Technical Rugby Session
- Plyometric exercises
- Short-moderate distance accelerations and sprints and (0-20m)
- Involvement of tackling pads and general contact work
- Game specific reaction drills – decision making, evasion in dynamic environment including contact work
If you want more information “Boksmart” for Rugby is excellent Click Here
Example 2: From “GAA 15” for Gaelic games : Click Here
Example 3: From “FIFA 11+” for soccer
References:
Jeffreys, I. (2007). Warm-up revisited: The ramp method of optimizing warm-ups. Professional Strength and Conditioning. (6) 12-18. [PubMed]
Clinical sports medicine Brukner and Khan 2012