Toe Touches:
While standing, bend over and reach for your toes. Hold for 15 seconds without bouncing.
Side Bends:
While standing, bend sideways reaching over with the opposite arm. Hold for 15 seconds. Repeat for each side.
Thigh Stretches:
While standing, balance yourself against a wall or chair. Bend one leg behind you and grasp it, holding it in place for 15 seconds. Repeat for each leg.
Ankle Rotations:
While sitting extend one leg out straight. Turn your ankle in circles, one direction then reverse. Repeat for the other ankle.
Jog in Place:
Jog in place for a minute or so lifting your legs high and close to your chest.
Once you warm up, you must cool down
Cooling down is also important. It helps make the blood-flow slow down more gradually and gives the body a chance to readjust to a resting state. To cool down, use any warm-up exercise for a few minutes before ending your workout. Gradually slow down until finally coming to a complete stop.
Warming up and cooling down.
Warming up and cooling down before and after every training session and competition is essential to playing safe.
There are four main areas to work on:
Warm ups should begin with easy aerobic activity, for example, jogging for 5 to 15 minutes.
The aim is to increase the flow of blood around your body so that your muscles are ready for action.
Do some gentle stretching exercises.
Make sure you stretch each of the main muscle groups you will use in training or competition.
So if you're a butterfly swimmer, stretch your shoulder, back and neck muscles.
These should last for between 10-15 seconds, the stretching part of the warm up should last for between 10-15 minutes.
Get into some strenuous running, swimming or cycling.
Most games, like rugby, hockey and football, involve a lot of running.
So you should do some short runs at half-to-three quarter speed, but never flat out.
The aim of this part of the warm up is to stretch your muscles and joints, making them more flexible and less likely to tear.
Cooling down at the end of a training session or competition is very important to avoid injury.
This is to help your body get rid of waste products that have built up in your muscles while you were exercising or playing.
The cool down involves the first two parts of the warm up, light aerobic exercise and gentle stretching.
Usually you don't need to complete the third part of the warm up during the cool down.
