Warm Up and Cool Down

There is no doubt that time spent on warming up and cooling down will improve an athlete's level of performance and accelerate the recovery process needed before and after training or competition. As a result, the coach must encourage the athlete to regard the warm up and cool down as an essential part of both the training session and competition itself.

Warm Up

Muscle stiffness is thought to be directly related to muscle injury and therefore the warm up should be aimed at reducing muscle stiffness.

Warming up should at least consist of the following:

Dynamic stretches are more appropriate to the warm up as they help reduce muscle stiffness. Static stretching exercises do not reduce muscle stiffness. For further information see the following articles:

What are the benefits of a warm up?

Performance may be improved, as an appropriate warm up will result in an:

  • Increased speed of contraction and relaxation of warmed muscles
  • Dynamic exercises reduce muscle stiffness
  • Greater economy of movement because of lowered viscous resistance within warmed muscles
  • Facilitated oxygen utilization by warmed muscles because haemoglobin releases oxygen more readily at higher muscle temperatures
  • Facilitated nerve transmission and muscle metabolism at higher temperatures; a specific warm up can facilitate motor unit recruitment required in subsequent all out activity
  • Increased blood flow through active tissues as local vascular beds dilate, increasing metabolism and muscle temperatures
  • Allows the heart rate get to a workable rate for beginning exercise
  • Mentally focused on the training or competition

Cool Down

Cooling down should consist of the following:

  • 5 to 10 minutes jogging/walking - decrease body temperature and remove waste products from the working muscles
  • 5 to 10 minutes static stretching exercises

Static stretches are more appropriate to the cool down as they help muscles to relax, realign muscle fibres and re-establish their normal range of movement. These stretches should be held for approximately 10 seconds.

What are the benefits of a cool down?

An appropriate cool down will:

  • aid in the dissipation of waste products - including lactic acid
  • reduce the potential for DOMS
  • reduce the chances of dizziness or fainting caused by the pooling of venous blood at the extremities
  • reduce the level of adrenaline in the blood
  • allows the heart rate to return to its resting rate

Related Research Papers

  • Medicine & Science in Sport and Exercise 33(3), pp354-358 (Dynamic v Passive stretching)
  • Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, vol 15 (1): 98-101 (Dynamic v Passive stretching)
  • Burkett LN, Phillips WT, ZiuratisJ. The best warm-up for the vertical jump in college-age athletic men'. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2005; 19:673-676
  • Fletcher IM, Jones B. 'The effect of different warm-up stretch protocols on 20m sprint performance in trained rugby union players'. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2004; 18: 885-888
  • Little T, Williams A.'Effects of differential stretching protocols during warm-ups on high speed motor capacities in professional soccer players'. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2006;20(1)203-207. Atler MJ. 'Science of Flexibility'. Human Kinetics 2004
  • McMillian DJ, Moore, et al. 'Dynamic vs. Static stretching warm-up: the effect on power and agility performance'. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2006; 20 (3):492-499
  • Stewart D, Macalus A and De Vito G. The effect of an active warm-up on surface EMG and muscle performance in healthy humans'. European Journal of Applied Physiology. 2003; 89:509-513
  • Winchester JB, Nelson AG et al. 'Static stretching impairs sprint performance in collegiate track and field athletes'. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2008; 22(1): 13-18
  • Young WB, Behm DG. 'Effects of running, static stretching and practice jumps on explosive force production and jumping performance'. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness. 2003; 43: 21-27
  • Yamaguchi T, Ishi, K et al. 'Acute effects of dynamic stretching exercise on power output during concentric dynamic constant external resistance leg extension'. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2007; 21(4): 1238-1244
  • Yamaguchi T, Ishi K. 'Effects of static stretching for 30 seconds and dynamic stretching on leg extension power'. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2005 ,19(3): 677-683. Lange

Stretching Handbook

The Stretching Handbook

Here is a simple, effective, and fool-proof way to do away with stiff, aching muscles & joints with just a few easy stretches. The Stretching Handbook is one of the only books available on the market today to contain photographs (not diagrams, cartoons or illustrations) of over 100 unique, individual stretches. Each stretch targets a specific muscle group, and comes with clear, high quality photographs, as well as a step-by-step description of exactly how the stretch is performed.

Select this link for more information on "The Stretching Handbook".
Core Stability

Core Stability

Core stability is an essential determinant of success for all sports people, be they cyclists, runners or swimmers, football or rugby players, golfers or rowers. That is because the body's core training muscles are the foundation for all other movement.

Select this link for more information on "Core Stability".

Associated Pages

The following Sports Coach pages should be read in conjunction with this page: