
File photo credit: SportSG
A dynamic warm up prepares your muscles for exercise and improves resistance to injury. It also works to coordinate all your muscles, increasing flexibility and stability.
Benefits of a Dynamic Warm Up
- Gradually increases heart rate and core temperature before the actual work out, allowing the athlete to immediately begin high intensity training
- Provides mental preparation, increased cohesion and motivation in team settings
- Increases balance, stability and long term flexibility
- Smaller muscles are trained through regular dynamic warm ups, improving overall conditioning
Dynamic Warm Up Guidelines
- Always begin with a static component
- Use varying degrees of intensity, from “swing” to “pull” to “skip”
- Hold all static poses for 1-2 seconds
- Progressively increase stretches
- Concentrate on correct posture and balance
- Transition smoothly between exercises without breaks
- Concentrate on using muscle strength – Do not rely on momentum
- Move the joints through the full range of movement
- Learn to breathe properly to improve relaxation and mental preparation for the exercises
- Team members should complete all exercises together, at the same pace
- Sample Dynamic Warm Up plans
Standing Exercises
- 10 ½ neck circles
- 10 arm swings across chest left, 10 on the right
- 10 golf swings, left and right side
- 10 full arm circles forward, 10 backwards, left and right side
- 10 4-way wrist stretches, left and right side
- 10 hip circles
- 10 butt wiggles
- 10 straight trunk rotations
- 10 full trunk twists
- 10 knee circles, left and right side
- 10 knee bends, left and right side
- 10 ankle rolls, left and right side
- 10 180/360 degree cat jumps
Moving Exercises
- 2 mins Heel walk – heel/toe walk – skip
- 2 mins Butt kick walk – pull – skip
- 2 mins high knee walk – pull – skip
- 2 mins Hurdle walk – pull – skip
- 2 mins side cross walk – skip
- 2 mins lunge step forward – wide – cross over
- 2 mins forward sprint – slow – medium – fast
- 2 mins backward sprint – slow – medium – fast