The Warm Up Process
This is probably one of the most important aspects of training, yet a lot of Youth Coaches, Parents and Athletes do not fully grasp the concept of Warming Up before a training session or game.
An athlete performs a warm-up to increase the body's temperature as well as to wake the nervous system (performs the movements) up.
It's a known fact that most coaches/parents believe that the best way to warm up an athlete is to make him/her run a couple of times around the field.
Thereafter the athletes should sit in a circle and perform a couple of "Static" Stretches (Holding a stretch for 20-30 seconds) until the coach feels it's now time to start with the session.
Performing an Aerobic Exercise (Jogging around the field a couple of times) as a warm-up will not prepare the body for the workout/training session ahead.
The body will not be able to function to it's full potential and therefore you will not be able to achieve the results you long for.
The goal of most training sessions are to improve Speed, Agility, Coordination etc and therefore it would be merely impossible to achieve these goals if the body is not able to perform to it's full potential.
How do a Youth Coach expect his/her athletes to run their fastest times if their body/muscles are not ready to perform.
Why do most coaches/parents believe that it is best to perform a static stretch before a workout? This myth has been passed on from generation to generation.
I bet you when you were at school you did the same routine (Running around the field and then sitting in a circle and stretching), I know I did.
To explain the effects of Static Stretching in the most basic way - When performing a static stretch before a workout, you actually DEACTIVATE the muscles that you are about to use during the session.
Does this sound like something you want to do before a session? Yes static stretching does improve Flexibility, but before a training session is not the time to work on flexibility.
Flexibility training should be done 3-5 times a week (Depending on your sport) and are performed after a workout or at home.
A Warm Up routine should be anything from 15 - 25 minutes to achieve the desired results.
In the follow-up article on warming up, I will give you an example of what types of exercises are performed during the warm up.
An athlete performs a warm-up to increase the body's temperature as well as to wake the nervous system (performs the movements) up.
It's a known fact that most coaches/parents believe that the best way to warm up an athlete is to make him/her run a couple of times around the field.
Thereafter the athletes should sit in a circle and perform a couple of "Static" Stretches (Holding a stretch for 20-30 seconds) until the coach feels it's now time to start with the session.
Performing an Aerobic Exercise (Jogging around the field a couple of times) as a warm-up will not prepare the body for the workout/training session ahead.
The body will not be able to function to it's full potential and therefore you will not be able to achieve the results you long for.
The goal of most training sessions are to improve Speed, Agility, Coordination etc and therefore it would be merely impossible to achieve these goals if the body is not able to perform to it's full potential.
How do a Youth Coach expect his/her athletes to run their fastest times if their body/muscles are not ready to perform.
Why do most coaches/parents believe that it is best to perform a static stretch before a workout? This myth has been passed on from generation to generation.
I bet you when you were at school you did the same routine (Running around the field and then sitting in a circle and stretching), I know I did.
To explain the effects of Static Stretching in the most basic way - When performing a static stretch before a workout, you actually DEACTIVATE the muscles that you are about to use during the session.
Does this sound like something you want to do before a session? Yes static stretching does improve Flexibility, but before a training session is not the time to work on flexibility.
Flexibility training should be done 3-5 times a week (Depending on your sport) and are performed after a workout or at home.
A Warm Up routine should be anything from 15 - 25 minutes to achieve the desired results.
In the follow-up article on warming up, I will give you an example of what types of exercises are performed during the warm up.