Warm ups
25 January 2021
Exercises is so important! it allows us to stay fit, healthy and positive. However, there is always the possibility of injury when we exercise, and that’s where I step in. Some people will claim there are certain ‘injury prevention’ methods out there. Realistically, all we aim to do is reduce the risk of getting injured. A good way of doing this is ensuring that we warm-up our muscles properly, before going into any strenuous activity.
Pulse Raiser
This includes anything to get your heart rate up, before starting the really hard work. Light jogging, skipping and cycling are all good examples of this. It is always worth doing some multidirectional work too, if the main activity requires any change of direction. The idea behind this is to get your heart rate up to similar levels required of the main activity, allowing the blood to be effectively pumped to the appropriate muscles.
Dynamic Stretching
Research has shown that static stretching before exercise can actually reduce muscle power, which may not be the best idea before a competitive event. Instead, hip swings; shoulder rotations and calf pumps are all great ideas to dynamically stretch the muscles, with the idea of increasing range of motion within a joint. Thus reducing the risk of injury caused by muscle tightness without compromising on power output.
Muscle Activation:
Finally, it is important that we switch on our muscles, before we go out and use them. I would always start with a set of press ups, sit ups, squats and calf raises before progressing into some single leg work, balancing drills and some explosive movements. This will ensure that our muscles are engaged, meaning they are already fired up and ready to go before moving onto our main activity, which will reduce the risk of any serious muscle strains.”
