27/09/2016
***FLEXIBILITY AND STABILITY WORK BEFORE TRAINING AND / OR COMPETITIVE PLAY***
Warming up, and specifically certain stages of the process, is often one part of both training and pre competition preparation that is not only neglected but also underestimated in terms of not only injury prevention but also performance enhancement.
A full and effective warm up can last approximately 30 - 45 minutes and can be split into seven different stages; pre warm up stage / flexibility stage, activation of muscles, general movement stage, mobility and dynamic stretching, sports specific movement and drills, mini games, and potentiation exercises.
In my experience athletes tend to jump straight into general movement, dynamic stretching, sports specific movements and mini games drills and often neglect or completely omit the other stages; this short piece will highlight the most important elements, in my opinion, of the flexibility and activation stages.
It is important to note that there are many factors which will influence the warm up plan; these include any history of injuries or dysfunctions the athlete may have, the demands of the sport (multi directional speed/ acceleration and deceleration/ rotational movements / stability and strength / are there overhead actions?) as well as common injuries associated with the sport.
Pre Warm Up / Flexibility Stage:
This phase of the warm up should aim to promote good muscle length and full range of movement. Due to the fact that many peoples' day to day living means that they are in a seated position (driving/ computer work/ studying) I always include self myofascial releasing (foam rolling) of the hip flexors and hamstrings, the glutes and pectorals (tennis balling), and thoracic area (double tennis ball/ foam roller) as these areas are commonly tight in people who spend a lot of time sitting. Muscles surrounding common injury sites associated with the athlete's sport should also be given attention here; for example foam rolling of the quadriceps for field and court athletes (in conjunction with hamstring and hip flexor releases will aid in sufficient muscle length about the knee) and the previously mentioned double tennis ball releasing through the thoracic spine will aid shoulder ROM for throwers/ golfers/ hockey players/ tennis players.
Ensuring good ROM is vital as this lessens risk of injury by very simply ensuring that muscles can work through their full range and not be over reached when working to aid in common sporting / exercise movements.
If the range is not available usually one of two things will happen:
- The body will compensate and look for the movement elsewhere resulting in a mechanical dysfunction.
- The muscle will basically over reach and suffer damage.
Muscle Activation Stage:
It is common for this next phase to usually be completed after the general movement phase. For example, Ian Jeffreys’ widely tried, tested and followed RAMP approach states the phases of a warm up as:
-Raise heart rate, body temperature, blood flow and joint fluid viscosity.
-Activate specific muscles.
-Mobilise specific joints.
-Potentiate performance through the use of specific intense efforts and exercises.
However, I find that a lot of the time an athlete will be performing the pre warm up and activation stages in the gym / locker room and the other stages on the pitch / court / course; therefore I always place the activation stage before the general movement stage in order to be more time efficient and eliminate the need to change location numerous times.
As previously noted people tend to spend a lot of time in a seated position, this position’s link to commonly inactive glutes and core coupled with typical sporting requirements (such as COD sprints, acceleration and deceleration, single leg strength and stability, power in the lower limbs), all of which require the glutes and trunk muscles to be firing efficiently, highlight the importance of glute and core activation drills in the the warm up. Time spent sitting can also lead to a muscle imbalance in terms of the trapezius being over active and the subscapular muscles being underactive; due to this I also usually include sub scapular activation drills in this stage (resistance band mid back rows, wall slides, straight arm push ups and trunk rotation with shoulder stability for example).
It is important here to consider the body’s kinetic chain, which refers to the way in which the body’s joints alternate in their function by being either ‘mobile’ or ‘stable’; as already mentioned if a joint is not efficient in their function it will have a knock on effect on the kinetic chain whereby the lack of mobility/ stability is looked for in the joint usually immediately above or below, usually resulting in injury. This has also been referred to by Grey Cook as the “Joint by Joint Approach”; below is the list of joint functions as listed by him:
Ankle – Mobile
Knee – Stable
Hip – Mobile
Lumbar – Stable
T – Spine – Mobile
Scapular – Stable
The activation stage also works towards activating all muscles responsible for stabilising the relevant joints; while the pre warm stage will have already contributed some in enhancing mobility of, and flexibility around the mobile joints, the upcoming (and not usually neglected!) mobility and dynamic stretching phase will focus further on this.
To sum up, by simply including self myofascial releases (foam rolling and tennis balling) and simple activation drills before a typical warm up the body should be at lower risk of injury, be moving more freely, firing more efficiently and be better prepared for the workload to come.
For more info and insights on the theories and methods I have mentioned see:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280945961_Jeffreys_I_2007_Warm-up_revisited_The_ramp_method_of_optimizing_warm-ups_Professional_Strength_and_Conditioning_6_12-18
http://graycook.com
-Eimear
