The Warm-Up

The best way to prepare for more strenuous exercise is to perform specific warm-up exercises because they provide a rehearsal of the activity and increase body temperature. Generally, there are three types of warm-up methods: passive (pre-warm up), general, and specific. Regardless of the types of warm-up activities used, the general purpose of warming up prior to physical activity is to increase core body and muscle temperature.

PASSIVE
Generally, a passive warm-up involves such methods as hot showers, massage, or heating pads, but most research has shown that this type of warm-up does not achieve the desired increases in tissue temperature needed to cause a warm-up effect. Due to this, a passive warm-up may be better termed as a pre-warm-up and may allow the athlete to relieve some muscle pain and stiffness and therefore enhance facilitation of body movements for the general warm-up to follow.

GENERAL
The general warm-up is probably the most commonly used technique and employs various movements not directly related to those to be employed in the activity itself, with the goal being to increase tissue temperature and improve the efficiency of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems for the physiological demands and processes that will soon be placed on it. These may start with joint rotation and gently twisting and bending movements usually followed by jogging, cycling, jumping rope or light calisthenics.

DYNAMIC
The final component of the warm-up is dynamic flexibility training. Active- Dynamic flexibility training consists of functional-based exercises that use sport-specific movements to prepare the body for activity. This type of training has been used for some time, but is still not common knowledge among coaches and athletes. While active- dynamic flexibility training is not as commonly used as other types of stretching (static, ballistic, and PNF); this type of training has some unique aspects that may warrant its use in an athlete’s warm-up.