Hey guys, welcome back to my blog. For this post I am going to talk about how we should warm up before a training session and I will also give you an example of my warm ups. Hope you enjoy!
Warm ups in my opinion are a vital component of training. Every athlete,in every sport should do a warm up. The point behind warming up is that it gradually warms up our body temperature which decreases risk of injury. Skipping a warm up completely can be extremely detrimental not only to your performance but you can also pick up an injury easily because your muscles aren't warm.
A warm up should last roughly 15-20 minutes. Dr Ian Jeffreys developed the framework RAMP protocol which allows for activities to be easily classified into a warm-up sequence.
1. Raise
2. Activate and Mobilise
3. Potentiate (or performance)
Phase 1: Raise
The aim of the raise phase is to increase our body temperature, heart rate, respiration rate, blood flow and joint viscosity. This first section of the warm-up would usually comprise of a jog around the pitch to gradually increase all of the above. Some say that this is a waste of valuable training time but each to our individual sport we should be adding in sport specific movements to this section of the warm-up. For example, badminton players can do some lunges or fast feet exercises which are specific to the sport.
Phase 2: Activate and Mobilise
The main aim of this phase is to activate key muscle groups and to increase range of motion. During this section of the warm-up, movements such as, lunges, squats, superman's, balance work and mini-band exercises should be done. These are generic exercises and can be done with the group as a whole but each individual athlete can then do their own specific exercises they may have as part of a rehabilitation programme.
Phase 3: Potentiation or performance
The aim of this stage is to prepare the athletes for the session they are about to undergo. There are two primary objectives for this stage which are to: increase the intensity to a comparable level the athletes' are about to compete in and to improve subsequent performance utilizing the effects of post-activation potentiation. Post-activation potentiation is a principle which transits the warm-up into the workout itself. Plyometric exercises as well as short sprints (15-20 meters) should be used in this stage of the warm-up. Finally, you can include some reactive agility drills which are of course sport specific.
When I am warming up for my badminton training I usually start off with a short jog maybe 4-5 minutes followed by some dynamic stretching, including lunges, squats, high knees, heel flicks, toe touches and high kicks. Then I will do some badminton specific movements, including fast feet. Sometimes I will do a few sets of footwork and then I will start hitting. Finally, I will play a quick conditioned game with my partner and then we will start our session.
I think it is extremely important to get a good warm-up in before a session or competition as it gives you time to ease into the training session and really prepare for the intense activity. As someone who knows a lot about getting injured, I try to take every precaution I can to try prevent this from happening. If you are not warm going out to train then you are much more likely to pull a muscle because your body hasn't had time to warm up properly.
Hope this post was useful for you guys and that you can use it in your future training!
References:
Warm ups in my opinion are a vital component of training. Every athlete,in every sport should do a warm up. The point behind warming up is that it gradually warms up our body temperature which decreases risk of injury. Skipping a warm up completely can be extremely detrimental not only to your performance but you can also pick up an injury easily because your muscles aren't warm.A warm up should last roughly 15-20 minutes. Dr Ian Jeffreys developed the framework RAMP protocol which allows for activities to be easily classified into a warm-up sequence.
1. Raise
2. Activate and Mobilise
3. Potentiate (or performance)
Phase 1: Raise
The aim of the raise phase is to increase our body temperature, heart rate, respiration rate, blood flow and joint viscosity. This first section of the warm-up would usually comprise of a jog around the pitch to gradually increase all of the above. Some say that this is a waste of valuable training time but each to our individual sport we should be adding in sport specific movements to this section of the warm-up. For example, badminton players can do some lunges or fast feet exercises which are specific to the sport.
Phase 2: Activate and Mobilise
The main aim of this phase is to activate key muscle groups and to increase range of motion. During this section of the warm-up, movements such as, lunges, squats, superman's, balance work and mini-band exercises should be done. These are generic exercises and can be done with the group as a whole but each individual athlete can then do their own specific exercises they may have as part of a rehabilitation programme.
Phase 3: Potentiation or performance
The aim of this stage is to prepare the athletes for the session they are about to undergo. There are two primary objectives for this stage which are to: increase the intensity to a comparable level the athletes' are about to compete in and to improve subsequent performance utilizing the effects of post-activation potentiation. Post-activation potentiation is a principle which transits the warm-up into the workout itself. Plyometric exercises as well as short sprints (15-20 meters) should be used in this stage of the warm-up. Finally, you can include some reactive agility drills which are of course sport specific.
When I am warming up for my badminton training I usually start off with a short jog maybe 4-5 minutes followed by some dynamic stretching, including lunges, squats, high knees, heel flicks, toe touches and high kicks. Then I will do some badminton specific movements, including fast feet. Sometimes I will do a few sets of footwork and then I will start hitting. Finally, I will play a quick conditioned game with my partner and then we will start our session.
I think it is extremely important to get a good warm-up in before a session or competition as it gives you time to ease into the training session and really prepare for the intense activity. As someone who knows a lot about getting injured, I try to take every precaution I can to try prevent this from happening. If you are not warm going out to train then you are much more likely to pull a muscle because your body hasn't had time to warm up properly.
Hope this post was useful for you guys and that you can use it in your future training!
References:
- Jeffreys, I. (2007). Warm-up revisited: The ramp method of optimizing warm-ups. Professional Strength and Conditioning. (6) 12-18.
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