There are 3 parts to a training session - the warm-up, the main activity and then after, the cool down.

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There are 3 parts to a training session – the warm-up, the main activity and then after, the cool down.

Warming up and cooling down are the one of the most important aspects of performing to your bodies maximum potential. Prior to your workout, warming up is essential. It, not only as I have mentioned, improves your performance, it also prevents injury to the muscles. Often when people warm up for their activity they either don’t stretch the right muscles needed for their sport or they don’t do the stretch properly. In most cases a bit light aerobic work is endured at intervals throughout your warm up. Warm-ups can be directly related to the session you are going to do - use of sporting movements, or indirectly related - general movements. The main purpose of a warm up is to increase body temperature and heart rate. Higher body temperature quickens the rate of which the body responds to things. It also speeds up both enzymatic and metabolic reactions. This improves metabolic adjustments by causing an increase in energy release. Another factor, which increases the rate of the metabolic processes, is the increase in heart rate which goes with the warm-up. This helps you prepare the cardiovascular system for work. Even though each sport requires a different warm-up, most are benefited by the one described above. This is the one I will be doing during my training programme.
There are several important things to consider when designing a warm-up.

  • Athletes that do short explosive sports benefit most from warm-ups. In trained athletes direct warm-ups are very beneficial.
  • Progressive or endurance type sports, such as cross country running - do not benefit from intense direct warming up, this is because they may carry out a light aerobic session – resulting in lesser energy and this may decrease their performance. Moderate indirect warm-ups however will help performance.
  • Intense indirect warm-ups interfere in performance through tiredness and can be harmful to skilled sports.

A sport specific warm-up can be done in 3 stages:

1. General warm-up: joint rotations and a light, aerobic activity
2. Stretching: stationary stretches and dynamic stretches
3. Sport specific activity: copy aspects of your sporting activity.

Because I won’t be performing one activity, but many different ones, it will be impossible to assign a warm-up that I will be using every time because some stretches will be required for certain activities and not others. For example, swimming will need muscles stretched that skipping wont, and visa versa. However all activities do need a warm-up.

Prior to my training programme, I will always make sure I carry out a warm-up. My warm-up will start off with a very slow form of aerobic training to get the blood pumping around my body and the increase of my heart rate. I will then perform some stretches which will differ upon what activity is being done. After some stretches I will do more aerobic work but very slightly increase the level I am working at. Then, once again I will do some more stretches. My body will now be ready for the activity.

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The cool down is effectively, just as important as the warm-up because you are more prone to an injury if the cool down is not done properly. As I cool down I will still be moving around – either walking or very slowly jogging so that my heart rate can gradually drop rather than plummeting straight away, which can cause an injury. Stretches are vital in the cool down and they are held for longer than the warm-up.  During these stretches your blood flow will be changing back to its normal pattern, and a good idea, while doing these stretches ...

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