I have recently been asked what is the best warm up routine i can do for my sport? and how long should i do it for? This prompted me to think about how the warm up has evolved in recent years and what its role is in modern sport.
The majority of us will do some form of warm up in our chosen activity whether it is a few passes with a mate and a quick touch the toes before an hour’s 5 a side or 5 minutes cardio before a weights session. The majority do not know why we do that and why we should put a bit more thought into our pre-game routine.The reason we warm up is to prepare the body both physically for the requirements about to be placed upon it and also to prepare it psychologically for the task ahead. The warm up should have some thought as to the muscle groups and energy systems that will be taxed during the workout. By structuring the workout it need not take up too much of your workout time or become a laborious activity that fatigues you before you start your session.A warm up should follow a basic structure for optimum effect.3 mins of mobility work3-10 mins of progressive cardiovascular stress

5 minutes of dynamic movement

3-10 minutes of task specific practice.

total warm up time minimum 14 minutes, maximum 28 minutes.

In a following post i will go into more detail on each of these segments of the warm up.