• Design and plan one full warming

up session including stretching TOPIC 5

• Explain the load of the activities
and state the reason for applying WARM-UP, FLEXIBILITY, &
these activities COOL-DOWN

WARM-UP, FLEXIBILITY, & COOL-

WARM-UP
DOWN
• Every training session should consist of 3 • Physiological responses:
components. – ↑ Q & blood flow to skeletal muscles.
– 1. Warm-up. – ↑ muscle temperature (Q10 effect)*
• ↑ enzyme activity.
– 2. Workout.
– Possible lower O2 deficit at onset of exercise.
– 3. Cool-down. – Possible ↓ RER during subsequent activity.
• Flexibility training should be incorporated into the – Possible favourable shift in lactate threshold.
warm-up & cool-down. – ↓ muscle resistance.

WARM UP
• Faster muscle contraction – agonist and
antagonist
• Improvement of rate force development
• Improvement muscle strength and power
• Lowered viscous resistance in muscles
• Improved oxygen delivery
• Facilitate oxygen delivery
Source: Brooks, G.A., Fahey, T.D., White, T.P., & Baldwin, K.M. (2000). Exercise physiology: human bioenergetics and its applications
(3rd ed.). Mountain View: Mayfield.

1
 WARM-UP WARM-UP
• Other responses/ benefits: • Duration - usually between 5 - 20 minutes.
– Linked to improved performance. – Depends upon:
– Can ↑ arousal (which is good up to a point) • environmental conditions.
• helps set up optimal “mental set” for performance. • nature of the training activity for the session.
– Provides a last minute practice session. • Warm-up is typically performed in the following
– Fine tunes (adjusts) motor skills for prevailing manner.
conditions. – Indirect
– Affords athlete the opportunity to perform flexibility – Direct
exercises. – Identical
– Injury prevention??
• Commonly believed that a correct warm-up may reduce the
possibility of muscle injury.
• Very little evidence exists to support this contention.
• More research required on this aspect of warm-up.

WARM-UP WARM-UP

– Indirect – Direct
• activities indirectly related to main activity (performance). • activities directly related to performance (specific).
• general activities employing large muscle groups. • specific drills at ~75% of normal effort.
• muscle groups should include those involved in the main • May involve dynamic movements of a specific sport or
activity (performance). activity.
• ↑ core body temp & arousal. – e.g., low intensity bounding.
• ideally at least 10 minutes in duration. – Identical
• ~ 60 - 80% of VO2max. • specific movements with normal form and high speed.
• allows changes to occur without excessive fatigue/ glycogen – e.g., hitter in baseball attempting to hit ball with power normally
depletion. used in the game.
– Direct & identical warm-up focuses the athletes
attention on the task at hand.

WARM-UP
• Vern Gambetta’s ideas on warm-up:
– transition from normal activity to the sporting activity
that we are preparing for.
– important in activating the nervous system (in addition
to other previously mentioned responses).
– Divisions of the warm-up:
• simple general warm-up (“loosening period”).
• activities performed to challenge proprioception.
– “co-ordination period”.
• speed & agility (including lateral drills).
• specific activities applying to activity that is going to follow.
– last & most intense component of the warm-up.
WARM-UP
• How soon should the main training or
performance commence following the warm-up?
• Some exercise physiologists believe within sixty
seconds of completion of the warm-up.
– due to physiological & psychological changes being
rapidly reversible.
• Other sports scientists believe that “ideally” a
recovery period of 5 - 10 minutes should be
provided before the main activity begins.
– they suggest that a well clothed athlete may remain
warmed up for 20 to 30 minutes.

2
 COOL-DOWN
FLEXIBILITY
• Conducted immediately following the training
session.
• Defined “as the ability to move a joint or series of
• Consists of a period of low intensity exercises. joints through a full, non-restricted, pain-free
• Principal objective: range of motion”.(Prentice, 1994)
– return “pooled” blood from exercised muscles back to • Athlete with restricted ROM will probably realize
central circulation. a ↓ in performance capabilities. (Prentice, 1994)
• Duration: • Flexibility exercises attempt to take advantage of
– 10 - 30 minutes depending upon: the highly elastic properties of a muscle
• environmental conditions.
(plasticity).
• age & fitness level of athlete.
• nature of the training session. – possible to ↑ the elasticity or length that a given muscle
can be stretched via appropriate flexibility program.
• Should always incorporate flexibility work.

FLEXIBILITY AND
FLEXIBILITY
STRETCHING
• Arguments on static stretching • Active ROM:
– Obj. enhanced performance and reduce injury – also referred to as ‘dynamic” flexibility.
– Little evidence – prevents injury and muscle soreness
– refers to the degree to which a joint can be moved by a
– Increase performance which requires increase ROM
muscle contraction.
– Few studies---reduced
• usually only spans the mid-range of the actual full ROM.
• Force production
• Power – not necessarily a good indicator of the stiffness or
• Running speed looseness of a joint.
• Reaction and movement time • this is because it applies to the ability to move the joint
• Strength endurance efficiently, with little resistance to movement.

FLEXIBILITY
FLEXIBILITY
• All 3 stretching techniques can invoke a
neurophysiological response known as the “stretch
• Passive ROM: reflex”.
– sometimes referred to as “static” flexibility. – two mechanoreceptors are involved.
– refers to the degree that a joint may be passively moved • muscle spindle.*
to the end-points in the range of motion. • Golgi tendon organ (GTO).*
• passively - refers to the use of external pressure or assistance. – both are sensitive to changes in muscle length (stretch).
• no muscle contraction is involved in moving the joint.
– GTO is also affected by changes in muscle tension.
• Stretching techniques: – when stimulated:
– there are 3 basic types. • muscle spindles cause reflex muscle contraction.
• Static. • GTO produce inhibition of muscle contraction.
• Dynamic (which includes ballistic). – protective mechanism.
• Proprioceptive.

3
Source: Wilmore, J.H., & Costill, D.L. (1999). Physiology of sport and exercise (2nd ed.). Champaign: Human Kinetics. (pp. 74). Source: Wilmore, J.H., & Costill, D.L. (1999). Physiology of sport and exercise (2nd ed.). Champaign: Human Kinetics. (pp. 76).

STATIC FLEXIBILITY EXERCISES

DYNAMIC FLEXIBILITY
• Apply maximal comfortable stretch to a muscle EXERCISES
then hold it for a period of time.
– stretch to edge of comfort zone. • Ballistic:
– hold the stretched position for ~ 30 seconds. – use of repetitive rapid bouncing movements to stretch
– repeat the stretch 3 to 5 times. the muscle.
• can be extended to up to 10 times. (Powers & Howley, 1997) – may be counterproductive due to muscle spindle
– seems to be as effective as ballistic stretching. stimulation.
• fewer potential negative consequences. • Stretch not held long enough to invoke GTO response.
– extended stretch allows GTO to override muscle • Considered by many to be the least preferred method of
stretching.
spindle.
• advantage - can be made specific to sport.
– good choice for sedentary individuals.
– does not require partner assistance.

PROPRIOCEPTIVE
DYNAMIC FLEXIBILITY NEUROMUSCULAR FACILITATION
EXERCISES • PNF:
• More recent Dynamic method: – originally designed for use in rehabilitation.
– stretching the muscle by way of sport specific drills. – employed extensively by physiotherapists.
– smooth movements through ROM used in sport – usually involve partner assistance.
activity. – involves autogenetic inhibition (GTO stimulation).
• endeavour to avoid jerky rapid movements. – Comprised of 3 different techniques:
– multiple repetitions of specific movements. • Hold-relax.
– form part of the specific warm-up. • Contract-relax.
• Hold-relax with agonist contraction. (reciprocal inhibition)
• all 3 techniques involve a pre-stretch of ~ 10 sec duration.
– Possibly the most effective stretching technique.
– Disadvantage:
• normally requires an experienced partner to assist.

4
 FACTORS RESTRICTING ROM
FACTORS RESTRICTING ROM
• Joint structure.
• Fat. • Age & Gender.
• Skin (lesions or scar tissue). – younger females tend to be more flexible.
• Connective tissue. • Activity level.
– tendons, ligaments, fascial sheaths,& joint capsules – an active person tends to be more flexible.
may limit the ROM. • especially if the regular activity includes flexibility exercises.
– probably the most affected by stretching exercises. – a warm-up ↑ muscle temperature which in turn can
acutely ↑ flexibility. (NSCA, 2000)
• Muscle bulk.
– excessive bulk may limit the ROM due to the sheer size
of the muscle.

WHEN, & HOW FREQUENTLY,

SHOULD AN ATHLETE STRETCH?
• Before practice & competition:
– ideally it should follow the general warm-up.
• 8 - 12 minutes of general & sport specific stretching.
• if stretching time is protracted warm-up time will need to be
increased.
• Following practice & competition:
– within 5 - 10 minutes of main activity.
– minimum of 5 minutes of flexibility work should be
performed.
• Frequency of flexibility work:
– minimum of twice/ week is recommended.
– greater benefits if conducted every day or every other
day.
SIGNIFICANT REFERENCES
• Brooks, G.A., Fahey, T.D., White, T.P., &
Baldwin, K.M. (2000). Exercise physiology:
human bioenergetics and its applications (3rd ed.).
Mountain View: Mayfield. (Chapter 20).
• Foss, , M.L., & Keteyian, S.J. (1998). Fox’s
physiological basis for exercise and sport (6th
ed.). Boston: WCB McGraw-Hill. (Chapter 13).
• Powers, S.K., & Howley, E.T. (1997). Exercise
physiology: theory and application to fitness and
performance (3rd ed.). Dubuque: Brown &
Benchmark. (Chapter 21).

SIGNIFICANT REFERENCES

• Prentice, W.E. (1994). Rehabilitation techniques

in sports medicine (2nd ed.). St Louis: Mosby.
(Chapters 3 & 11).
• Wilmore, J.H., & Costill, D.L. (1999). Physiology
of sport and exercise (2nd ed.). Champaign:
Human Kinetics. (Chapter 2).