A presentation on the importance of the warm-up and what role static stretching has in your training routine.

Transcription

1 THE DYNAMIC WARM UP A presentation on the importance of the warm-up and what role static stretching has in your training routine.

2 The following information and presentation is based on my examination of a number of scientific studies and is, for the most part, research-based rather than anecdotal ( I feel better when I stretch, so it must be doing me some good ). I don t expect everyone to agree with this warm-up routine, but I hope it will help you make informed decisions about whether, ho w and when to incorporate stretching into your team training routines. Why might stretching cause more problems than it solves? One explanation is that stretching muscle fibers makes them less stable and less able to resist the jarring impact of running or jumping. It is also possible that stretching may hinder performance because a stretched muscle can t produce the same kind of force as an unstretched one. Also, as muscle fibers lengthen, it takes longer for the brain s messages to tell the muscle to move. If lack of flexibility isn t the cause of injuries, where can we look? The main cause of most injuries isn t lack of flexibility, but fatigue and muscle weakness. What is a dynamic warm -up? The focus of the dynamic warm- up is to increase movement flexibility through a series of technique exercises. When do I incorporate static stretching into my training routine? Static stretching has its purpose and that is at the end of the meet or practice, not at the beginning. Static stretching is a great way to put the central nervous system to sleep after a hard workout. How do I get athletes to buy into this new routine? You need to educate yourself about the benefits of a dynamic warm up, and then cite research that has actually shown that stretching does not help athletes perform better or avoid injury. I have provided you with several studies, in this outline that have examined this controversial issue. What does research say about stretching? Several research reports have noted that stretching helps muscles work better; unfortunately, these are almost invariably of poor quality, irrelevant to runners, or both. Below I have outlined three performance-related studies that support stretching: 1. (Bosco et al., International Journal of Sports Medicine 3: , 1982) concerns the proper stance with which to begin a vertical jump and really has nothing to do with the style of stretching practiced by runners. 2. (Worrell et al., Journal of Orthopedics and Sports Physical Therapy 20: , 1994) suggests that regular stretching improves hamstring power in initially inflexible subjects; however, this study lacked a control group and failed to achieve a statistically -significant improvement in subject flexibility

3 even though that (improving flexibility) was the point of the stretching protocol. 3. (Wilson et al., Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 24: , 1992) demonstrated an improvement in maximal rebound bench press performance among male weightlifters who underwent an eight week upperbody flexibility training program, a credible finding which is nonetheless of limited applicability to running. Evidence that stretching will help runners run faster and prevent injury has been examined in interviews and research. Please note the following studies: 1. Res earchers at the University of Hawaii in 1994 interviewed more than 1,500 runners who had participated in a marathon and asked them about their exercise routines. The conclusion: Runners who stretched prior to workouts weren t any more resistant to injury than those who didn t. In fact, some stretchers had a greater risk of injury. 2. (Gleim et al., Journal of Orthopaedic Research , 1990; Craib et al., Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 28: , 1996) which shows that inflexible runners use less energy (i.e., are more economical) than flexible runners in covering a given distance at a given speed. The reasons for this are not clear, although the authors speculate that stiff runners may store and recycle more elastic energy from one strid e to the next and/or may devote less energy to maintaining stable upright posture while running. 3. The ASCM position paper on stretching cites six references in support of the statement General stretching programs have been shown to be effective in reducin g both the severity and frequency of injuries ; however, only one of the six contains empirical data on the effects of stretching. 4. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found only six studies designed to isolate the effects of stretching, and none showed a link between stretching more and getting hurt less.

4 The Dynamic Warm Up Do I go right into the Dynamic Warm Up? Have your athletes do 6-8 Baylors prior to beginning the warm up. What s a Baylor? Athletes run 6-8 stra ights, and walk the corners. The speed on the straights should be progressive (never a jog, and never a full out sprint). Use a total of 40m (20m down/20m back; except where noted) for the following : Rock heel to toe (dorsiflexion-plantar flexion/in place) Walk heel to toe (10m,jog 10m) Walk on toes (10m, jog 10m) Walk on heels (10m, jog 10m) Jogging-arms forward/jogging-arms back Side Skips Skipping forward w/arms swinging across body Skipping forward alternating arms swinging up/down Jumping jacks moving forward Carioca s Knee to Chest (10m, jog 10m) Straight Leg Stretch (10m, jog 10m) Walking quad stretch (10m, jog 10m) Butt Kicks (10m, jog 10m)

5 A Skips Power Up Clap Jacks (toe up, knee up, heel up) Cheerleaders Leg Swings