Wednesday, August 17, 2011

How to Warm-up Your Young Athletes

How to Warm-up Your Young Athletes


This may be among the most controversial and misunderstood topics within the whole youth amelioration industry.

Warming up for sport or performance is, in essence, preparation the body for the task it is about to do. This includes addition body climatic characteristic and improving the efficiency of the nervous ideas (which controls movement). Warm-ups can commonly be classified into two categories:

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General - Incorporates a broad assortment of movements in order to put in order the body as a systemic unit. Arousal of an accepted 'mental attitude' for the upcoming competition or custom is a considerable component of this phase.


Specific - Involves accurate actions or exercises relating to the singular sport. This serves as a more accurate neuromuscular preparation for the movements and tasks about to take place in the game or practice.

There are two misleading notions regarding warm-up originate that are commonly believed to be true by many coaches, instructor and parents:

Aerobic performance is the best choice as a warm-up exercise.

Static stretching must precede all workouts, practices or games in order to sell out the possible for injury.

The 'aerobic activity' phenomenon is a wide spread myth to say the least. Soccer, football and baseball coaches often send their athletes on 5 - 10 itsybitsy jogs colse to the field prior to the start of a game. Likewise, Personal Trainers will regularly have their clients 'warm-up' on a stationary bike or treadmill prior to a strength-training workout. This type of pre-event warm-up equates to dogmatic custom without any determination of what the warm-up is meant to supply. Specifically, a warm-up must elevate body/muscle climatic characteristic to a certain point, growth both respiration and blood flow as well as heighten nervous ideas performance thereby heightening coordination and movement aptitude - this must all be done to level at which the athlete is not fatigued but prepared.

With aerobic-based warm-ups, energy reserves may be diminished and the capability to exhibit speed, drive and motor operate lessened. This is quite problematic considering most sports and workout programs involve either displaying speed and drive abilities or are designed to heighten speed and drive capacities. More over, if a given training session is geared towards upper body drive exercises, how does running on a treadmill or riding a stationary bike put in order the body for the definite neuromuscular demands about to be placed on it?

With static stretching, it must be understood that any type of prolonged, held stretch can categorically Cause injury. The understanding of flexibility as a whole is largely misunderstood in modern sport carrying out (and fitness for that matter). The understanding that static flexibility exercises are considerable as a pre-event habit in order to both forestall injury and put in order the body for movement are two primary incorrect 'facts'.

Firstly, static flexibility exercises can disturb the stability of joints to a point that may categorically serve to growth the possible for injury. Acting on nerve transmissions from the brain and spinal cord, muscles serve to move joints through varied ranges of petition in order to furnish a desired task. comprehension the laws of human motion, their exists a delicate equilibrium between mobility and stability within the context of any movement. A muscle's job then (in conjunction with both ligaments and tendons), is to furnish movement (mobility) while protecting a given joint from 'over-movement' (stability). 'Over-movement' refers to uncontrolled petition that exceeds the natural limits of a joints capacity - this could result in acute trauma of varying degrees of severity. This mobility-stability interplay can be disrupted if statically held stretches are performed prior to a duration of bodily exertion.

The other primary factor to think is that static exercises of any kind cannot be judiciously understanding of as precursors to a movement-based activity. All sports and training exercises involve movement in varying extents. Slow and easy-paced multi-directional movements, sudden bursts of speed and maximal drive efforts are all part of either sport participation or training programs. It is only sensible to prime the athlete specifically for what they are about to do - put in order To Move By captivating To Prepare.

In reality, comprehension the concepts of warming-up for sport could be a book unto itself. How to originate an efficient and functionally-sound warm-up is based on any factors along with -

Type of activity

Duration of activity

Age of Athlete

Injury History

Exercise history

*Adapted from 'Facts & Fallacies of Fitness' by Dr. Mel Siff

Here is what a general warm-up may look like for an adolescent athlete (of virtually any sport):

Movements are performed for 20 - 30 feet. Walk back to the beginning point and begin again.

Jog X 3

High Knees X 3

Butt Kicks X 3

Carioca X 2 each way

Back Pedal X 3

Lunge Walk X 3

Walking Hip Thrust X 2 each leg

Walking Skips X 2 each

High Skips X 3

Skipping Bounds X 3

Tempo Runs X 3

Movement aptitude is taught and perfected while warm-ups. It is not adequate to naturally 'go through' the motions - coaches and trainers must teach adequate movement habits and force productions skills.

For both lower and upper body drive training days, I will combine a definite movement involved prior to the actual lifting exercises:

Lower Body

These exercises are performed with a 45-pound Olympic bar without any other external loading. Each practice is performed in sequence one after the other.

Good Morning X 5 reps

Overhead Squats X 5 reps

Back Squats X 5 reps

Front Squats X 5 reps

Rdl's X 5 reps

Perform 2-3 sets

These exercises are definite preparations for the movements the athletes are about to accomplish and elicit a more singular neuromuscular response. Again, impeccable form is both taught and practiced while these movement complexes.

Upper Body

These exercises are performed with 3 - 5 pound dumbbells and are performed in a sequence or circuit type manner.

Rainbow Arc X 5 (start in anatomical position, raise your arms in a rainbow-type petition until the dumbbells touch above your head)

Shoulder Press X 5 (standard)

Forward Arm Circles (standard)

Crisscross X 5 (start with dumbbells held at 90 degrees of shoulder abduction, ensuring that the scapulae are retracted and depressed. Horizontally adduct until the dumbbells reach the sagittal midline of the body. accomplish a quick over-under crisscross with the dumbbells and return to the beginning position)

Bent Over Fly X 5 (standard)

* accomplish 2 - 3 sets.

How to Warm-up Your Young Athletes


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