CHAPTER ONE .

WARM-UP AND COOL-DOWN

1.- WARM-UP

A warm-up is a series of exercises you do before physical activity. The aim of a warm up is to gradually get your whole body prepared for work. An effective warm up will:

Prevent injury to muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Prepare the body for specific exercises. Increase blood flow and temperature of muscles so they will react quicker. Allow a greater range of movement of joints.

There are 4 stages/parts of a warm-up:

Stage 1: A Small Run

Increases heart rate. Increases blood flow to the muscles Raises the body temperature

Departamento EF. 1 ESO Bil

Sonia Mirs Herrera

Stage 2: Joint rotations

Remove sinovial fluid from the joints

Prepare the tendons and ligaments

Stage 3: Final Activity/ specific stage

Warms up specific part of the body that will be used in the activity.

Stage 4: Stretching of the main muscles

Allows easier movement Increases joint flexibility Stretches the muscles.

2.- COOL-DOWN

Departamento EF. 1 ESO Bil

Sonia Mirs Herrera

This reduces the risk of muscles stiffness after performance, and speeds up the removal of lactic acid. It also reduces the risk of fainting after activity by keeping the blood circulating back to the heart and gradually reducing the heart rate. In our sessions, cool-downs have one phase:

More stretching to help reduce temperature slowly, to help in the removal of waste products and to stretch the muscles after they have been working to increase the range of movement possible at the joint.

Departamento EF. 1 ESO Bil

Sonia Mirs Herrera