My Life is Vital™ - Warm Up/Cool Down the Right Way

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Warm Up/Cool Down the Right Way

Vital Healthcare Group

Wondering why your coach emphasizes warming up and cooling down? It’s because sports are more than fun—they can cause injuries, even serious ones, if you’re not careful.

Sports injuries are common

Did you know that each year there are more than 3.5 million sports injuries in kids and teens across the US? According to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System of the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, the number of sports injuries involving kids ages 5 through 14 years includes:

Football: 448,200
Basketball: 574,000
Baseball: 252,665
Soccer: 227,100
Hockey: 80,700
Gymnastics: 75,000
Volleyball: 50,100

Play it safe by warming up first

Before you exercise or participate in sports, it’s important to warm up properly (at least 5 minutes). Warming up helps get your blood flowing. A warm up increases your body temperature and your breathing rate. You can warm up by walking at a slow pace. Now gradually increase the rate up to your normal walking level. If you’re going to ride your bike, start biking at a moderate rate and slowly increase your speed to your target rate. If you are going to run, start walking briskly and then jog, gradually increasing the rate up to your running pace.

Before you do strengthening exercises, it’s important to do leg circles, arm swings and forward and backward bends at the waist. Try to mimic the motions of the exercises you will be performing prior to the workout.

Stretching after exercise

After you exercise, it’s important to slowly decrease your intensity level. If you’ve been riding a bike, you may want to ride at a slower pace. If you’ve been running, you may spend time walking until your breathing and heart rate have returned to normal.

Stretching can be done after exercise or when your workout is over. Stretching increases elasticity of the muscle and mobility of the joints and helps prevent injury. Avoid vigorous stretching before a workout as this may cause ligament and muscle injury.

When you stretch your muscles, use long, static holds. This helps to elongate the recently worked muscles and also helps your body cool down.

Hold the stretch up to 60 seconds or longer without bouncing or jerking. A shorter hold (10 seconds) is not long enough and is not as effective.

Questions about warm ups and cool downs

If you have questions about warming up and cooling down, talk to your coach. Your coach is there to help you be your very best and stay at the top of your game—without a sports injury.