Are you someone that just strolls into the gym, does 5 mins on the bike and then go straight into sprinting or heavy lifting? Yes? Then this is for you. We have all been guilty of rolling in late to practice and jump straight into drills, we are better than that.
To get the most out of any training session, you need to prepare properly.
A well-structured warm up is a chance to properly prepare the body for the upcoming session and is a simple but effective way of reducing our chances of injury.
The warm ups we use at ACE are simple but very effective. They are more than just about getting the blood pumping. We look to cover a number of different aspects including:
Warm up the muscles – more specifically prepare them for the movements they will be doing in the training session
Increase heart rate
Stimulate our mind – it needs to be just as prepared as the muscles
Start to teach some basic running technique drills
Any movement weaknesses or sore areas can be picked up on early
The warm up shown in below, demonstrated by AFLW All-Australian Brit Bonnici, is one of our beginner warm ups. This warm up can be done by athletes of almost any level, and can be done with zero equipment at a nearby park or oval.
Here is the warm up listed out
Dynamic Arm Swings
Light Jog
Heel Toe Skips
High Knee March
High Knee Skip
Side Skips
Carioca (or grapevine)
Backwards Skip
Arm Circles (fwd, back)
Leg Swings (straight, cross-body)
Build up run throughs (50%, 75%, 100%)
Once you have got the hang of this one, there are a number of ways that we can progress this to both challenge you more and to better stimulate your body in preparation for whatever session or game you are preparing for.
If you want more information on the benefits of a proper warm up or are looking for a more challenging warm up contact the ACE Performance Tribe