When I am warm, have a full range of movement, and am dynamically flexible, ball work and team drills can be added to the previous movement skills and performed at the same intensity as the training session of competition to follow.
Cardiovascular warm- up (pulse raiser)
Every training /exercise session or competitive situation should start with a cardiovascular warm-up, which raises the pulse rate gradually towards working pulse rate. This can take various forms and could include easy cycling, skipping, slow swimming, easy jogging or walking. This part of the warm up usually takes between five and ten minutes, depending on the athlete and the event. If I was preparing for a netball match my cv warm up would consist of jogging, however I would then progress to the dynamic warm up session:
- Side stepping, lead with right leg for half the court, then finish court leading with left leg.
- Skip length of court with low knee lift.
- Repeat side stepping as above.
- Skip length of court with high knee lift and high arm swings.
- Stretch calf muscle in lung position, back heel down. At the same time, swing one arm in a spiral pattern. Change legs and repeat.
- Lunge forwards with right leg in several direction. At the same time reach arms into various directions. Finish holding a lunge stretch and do gentle neck movements at the same time. Repeat with other leg.
- Ankle rolls for 10 metres, heel flicks (quick pick-up) for 10 metres, ankle rolls 7 steps followed by two footed jump, land on toes, move off again quickly. Repeat.
- Falling start, then sprint forward with three quick steps. Repeat x3.
- Hamstring stretch in standing position, whilst turning trunk to either side
- Repeat with other leg.
- Holding partner, leg swinging patterns. Face partner and push against each other with arms outstretched, one athlete does 6 high knee runs then sap, then 6 heel flicks and swap, then 6 low jumps and swap.
- Start in sideline, dodge left then right, then sprint forwards 3-4m, then stop dead. Repeat to other sideline. Finish with athletes in goal circle (or one third of court depending on numbers) doing 20 seconds of specific positional movements as quickly as possible, 10 seconds recovery the repeat.
What it does
- Helps one prepare mentally
- Increases rate and blood flow
- Warms muscles and makes them flexible
- Warms and loosens joints
- Reduces the risk of injury
The training activity could be:
- Court intervals
- Speed and agility
- Running intervals - fartlek or interval training
- Steady running - continuous training
- Cross training (swimming, cycling, hockey etc)
- A netball match
- Flexibility exercises
- Core strength exercises
- Resistance exercises
Cool down
This is the time given to a set of exercises that you do after training or competition to help your body return to its normal resting level. Cooling down is also important for eliminating waste products that have built up during activity, mainly in the legs such as lactic acid. If the body, especially the legs stop moving completely (i.e. the athlete sits down) then pooling of the circulation takes place in the lower leg and there is no effective muscle pump pushing the blood and tissue fluids around the body. This gives rise to cramp, muscle soreness and a feeling of heaviness of the legs and slows down recovery.
As the name implies, cool down brings about a lowering in temperature, so it is important that you put on some warm and dry clothing (tracksuits) to prevent cooling down to quickly and feeling chilled. You must keep on the move for at least 5 minutes to help prevent pooling in the lower legs. You should know your own specific flexibility areas to work on and how to do each stretch correctly and effectively. You should gradually work from a moving upright position to resting on the floor, to finally end with the legs elevated to aid elimination to the aforementioned waste products. As I do not need to spend a lot of time on flexibility, I will use the time to work on my core strength.
Sample dynamic cool down session
- Put warm clothing on
- Fluid and suitable snacks within reach
- Jog or walk approximately 4 lengths of the court
- Step and stretch the length of the court. These should be upright stretched such as those for the thigh and groin making sure each leg it stretched.
- This period is also used to start stretching the trunk and upper body.
- Sit and lie down, each athlete doing their own specific work, either flexibility or core strength.
- Lying with legs up against a wall. I f no wall is available, you can rest you elevated legs against each other. Gentle cycling movements can be used in this position, and slow foot and ankle movements.
- Flexibility work can be used on hamstrings, gluteals, calves and groin.
- Lying on stomach, finish with quad stretches and spinal stretches and finally coming up into standing for a final full upright stretch.
