Dynamic Warm-ups

I just read Tintin's post on Dynamic Warm-Ups, and then checked out DO's link to www.elitetrack.com/warmup.pdf.

I thought it was quite an interesting article, and seems similar to the warm-ups I was learning at my wushu classes...The extracts are below...

~*~*~*~

"The main physiological reason for a warm up includes to increase core temperature, increase heart rate and blood flow to skeletal tissues, increase the activation of the Central Nervous System, increase the rate and force of muscle contraction and contractile mechanical efficiency, and increase the suppleness of connective tissue.

Static stretching - with most stretches performed slowly and with the athletes either standing still or sitting on the ground - has been shown to be beneficial for the increase in limb range of motion, and aims to relax the muscles so that they are less resistant to passive stress for stretching. But this type of stretching does not prepare the muscle and connective tissue for the active contraction.

To make changes to the way a warm-up is performed, the aim of the warm-up for a dynamic sport should be altered, such that the warm-up should be:

The complete physical and mental preparation for the dynamic
actions to follow. The athlete should be able to begin the game
or training session totally ready to perform at maximal
intensity if required.

The initial jog is now replaced with a more dynamic series of running exercises that include regular alternation of running forwards, backwards, sideways, high knee drills, butt flicks, crossovers, bounding, jumps and progressive sprints. This component will only take 2-4 minutes depending on the climate. It is expected that the athletes are breathing quite heavily at the end of this short series of exercises.

With the stretching component, static stretching can still be included in the program, as many athletes still feel they need some static stretching to really prepare themselves (with time it would be ideal to phase static stretching out of the warm up routine and place it only in the warm down period)."


~*~*~*~

Anyway, tonight, I'll be taking the coach up to Penang. Here's another picture of the wonderful bridge that I'll be running across on Sunday. There's a reason why it's one of the world's longest bridges! ;)