A GOOD WARMUP ROUTINE SHOULD BE FULL BODY, DYNAMIC IN ALL YOUR MOVEMENTS AND BUILD FROM SIMPLE TO COMPLEX. HERE ARE THE FOUR KEY PARTS:
- A light jog.This is a great start as it engages the entire body but is very easy and limited in its range of motion. The heart rate increases slightly and blood flows to all the right places.
- Dynamic Stretching.This is different from conventional, static stretching. In dynamic stretching, the stretch is only held for a second or two and then released and repeated a handful of times. This prepares the body for motion without robbing the tissues of some of the necessary tightness needed for elastic recoil, or energy return—basically the tissues’ ability to store and return energy like a spring. The goal should be to do enough dynamic stretches to target the major muscle groups that will working during exercise, such as the glutes, hamstrings, calves, quads, core, chest and back.
- Activations and drills.Activations use the muscles in a more explosive manner. The goal is to take the body through specific ranges of motion, often exaggerated to hyper-prepare the mind and body for the upcoming effort. Activations typically isolate specific parts of the body to ensure that a muscle is ready to do its job. An example would be a straight leg kick back, where the athlete leans slightly forward, hands on the waist for balance, slightly bending one knee for stability while pointing the other leg straight back, then lowering and lifting the leg. This activation specifically warms up the glute muscle. After activations, the body is ready for drills. This is everything from running in place, high knees, butt kicks, A-Skips, B -Skips, carioca,high-knee skips and a sideways shuffle. Drills get the entire body working together to create explosive, exaggerated movements.
- Strides.The last step is to run a few short build-up strides, an interval of anywhere between 50-100 meters where running speed is steadily increased to just below max effort by the end—unlike a full sprint, where the speed is max effort all the way through.
DYNAMIC WARM-UP DRILLS
| Sprint drill(SD) | Dynamic Flexibility(DF) | Core Work(CW) | Strength Drills(STD) | Mobility Drills(MD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Knee | Arm Circles | Sprinters | Pirsoner Squat | Walking Quad Stertch |
| Backward Run | Neck Circle | Russian Twist | Walking Lung | Kickers |
| Fast Butt Kick | Toe Walk | Bicyles | Burpees | Lunging Hamstring Stretch |
| C-Skip | Heel Walk | Toe Touches | Push- Up | A Skip |
| Straight Leg Bound | Up & Back | Planks | Mountain Climber | B skip |
| Carioka (High Knee) | File Hydrant | Side Planks | Fog Jumps | Butterfly |