Champions

Warm up and warm down

The aim of a warm up is to gradually get your whole body prepared for work. An effective warm up will:
- Prevent injury to muscles, tendons and ligaments
- Prepare the body for specific exercises
- Increase blood flow and temperature of muscles so they will react quicker
- Allow a greater range of movement of joints

There are 4 stages of a warm up:


Stage 1	Light running/jogging	Increses heart rate. Increases blood flow to muscles Raises the body temperature.
Stage 2	Stretching	Allows easier movement. Increases joint flexibility. Stretches the muscles.
Stage 3	Practice actions from the activity	Warms up specific parts of the body that will be used in the activity
Stage 4	Mental preperation	Visualise a successful performance.

Example of warm up

A warm-up for basketball may be as follows -

Stage 1 – Jogging. We jogged around the court 5 times (5 minutes)

Stage 2 – Stretching. I focused on leg and groin stretches, because of all the running/jumping/ turning I would perform. I held each stretch for 10-20 seconds and repeated. (5 minutes)

Stage 3 – Skills of the activity. I passed the ball backwards and forwards with a partner for 3 minutes.

Stage 4 – Mental preparation. I focused on the game ahead. Performing successful lay ups and successfully man marking the opposition.

I passed the ball backwards and forwards with a partner for 2 minutes.

Warm down

Gentle exercise slowly reduces heart rate and body temperature to allow the body to return to normal gradually. It also helps to rid the muscles of lactic acid. Progressive stretching gently stretches muscles that may have tightened. It can also help reduce stiffness, soreness, nausea and cramp.