Tips & techniques: Steps to doing physical activity |
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WARM UP & COOL DOWN
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The reasons for warming up before doing any physical activity:
- Your body and muscle temperature will increase. This makes the muscles more flexible as the blood supply to the muscles improves
- Your breathing rate increases thus increasing oxygen supplies to the body
- Your heart rate is increased to meet the greater demand for blood
circulation in order to supply energy to the muscles
- Stretching your muscles provides greater flexibility, range and
speed of movement
- Since the body and muscles are warm, there is less likelihood of
injury occurring to muscles, tendons and ligaments.
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For moderate to vigorous activities you need to prepare your body for action. Your warm up can be changed for different activities, but should include:
- Activities that gradually raise the pulse - Start with some gentle activity to gradually increase your heart rate. This ensures that the body is prepared gradually for the demands being made on it. Activities may include walking, gentle jogging, or cycling in a low gear.
- Activities to mobilise the joints - Mobility exercises involve slow, controlled movements of the muscles around those joints that will be used in the activity. For example, shoulder rotations, side bends and knee lifts
- Stretching - It is important to stretch the main muscle groups to be used in the activity for six to ten seconds. For example, if the activity mainly involves leg work, stretches for the major leg muscles - the calves, quadriceps, hamstrings and groin - are required.
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The reasons for COOLING DOWN from doing physical activity:
- A cool down after any moderate to vigorous physical activity will help to reduce the stiffness you sometimes get after activity. In the same way that the intensity of activity is gradually increased in the warm up, it should be gradually decreased in the cool down.
- Activities to decrease the pulse rate
Walking
A good cool down activity is walking. Start with fast walking, move
through to brisk walking and end with gentle walking
Stretching
A cool down should include stretches for the muscle groups you
have used. Stretches carried out in the warm up can be repeated,
but hold for between 10 to 60 seconds, where possible.
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