This really isn’t Part 7 on the Warm-up, but it could very well be.
Here are 4 previous articles on the warm-up, in case you missed it:
- Should Sprinters Warm-Up Less, not More?
- Ian Jeffreys and the RAMP Warm Up
- Dynamic Warm Up vs. Static Stretching Controversy
- Valeri Borzov – An Hour Before the Start (A MUST READ!)
Plus I wrote 2 articles on running TWO races back-to-back, using the first race as a warm-up for the second race, and why I like it:
- Running 100 Meters before your Big Race – Thoughts on Shawn Crawford
- 2011 Rome Golden Gala – Women’s 400 meters
The Warm-Up
As a recap, here is my common sense tips (and benefits) to the warm up.
- The longer the activity, and/or the less intense the activity, the shorter the warm up. Less intense generally means longer duration, with the exception of Rugby 7. Seriously, for a marathon, do you really need to jog a mile beforehand? Yes, if you are a 2:03 marathoner averaging 4:50 per mile. No, if you are a recreational 4:40 marathoner. For a sprinter with a duration of 10 or 20 seconds, an hour is reasonable.
- (For running events) start with general activities, like jogging, skipping and shuffling, and progress to more specific activities, like drills, lunges and hurdle mobility exercises. This a great time to test the neural response and biomotor capabilities, like Gerard Mach’s A skip, B skip, C’s (or butt kicks) and Powerspeed drills. Or a 150 meters at 95% speed 20 minutes before your race. Throwers and jumpers will have their own warm-up.
- The warm up is PART of the workout. (I can still hear Dennis Barrett saying this over and over) Thus it can be used as conditioning for newer and out-of-shape athletes.
- Always take in account of the ambient temperature and humidity (see the Valeri Borzov article)
- In short, just do what you gotta do to be ready when that gun goes off.
Leave a Reply