|
Fitness Tip:
Warming Up
With the arrival of some rather cold weather I thought it
would be appropriate to write a tip regarding the warm-up. The
purpose of warming up is to bring your muscle temperature to a
point at which you can safely increase the velocity of your
movement. But you also want to gradually acclimatise to the
demands of the activity you are going to engage in. A warm up
which contains a light jog and some static stretches isn't
really going to serve the purpose of allowing the body to
adjust to a sport which requires short sharp bursts and rapid
changes of direction.
Therefore if you're warming up for a sport or an activity that
involves explosive movements, the inclusion of dynamic
stretches is pretty much a necessity. Dynamic stretches are
movement patterns that are similar in nature to those that you
are going to perform in your chosen activity. Bouncing,
swinging and flicking movements that actively move the limbs
or body to a point close to or beyond their normal range of
motion. Due to this fact they do place a greater stress on the
tissues than static stretching but for a shorter time. There
are risks associated with this kind of stretching so certain
movements should be avoided, especially those which put
excessive stress on the spine. However if you follow a well
prescribed routine you will be much better prepared for your
activity and you'll probably find the movement patterns
mentally more stimulating than endless static stretches.
Dynamic stretches don't however improve you're general
flexibility, because the stretch isn't held for a long enough
time to initiate an adaptation, so static stretching is still
useful for maintaining and improving your general flexibility.
|
