Flexibility, Mobility, Warming up and Cooling Down Flashcards
- Define the flexibility terms
- Range of Motion (ROM): degree of movt at a joint.
- Flexibility: measure of ROM (static + dynamic components)
- Static flexibility: ROM during a passive movt = requires no voluntary muscular activity, an external force allows the stretch such as gravity, a partner, or a machine
- Dynamic flexibility: ROM during active movts = requires voluntary muscular activity, ROM is generally greater than static ROM.
- Mobility – Ability to move fluidly through movs without physical hindrance
- Movement exercise – some basic fundamental movts that increase mobility, stability + flexibility + have a crossover to enhance other sporting movts or skills
- Describe factors that will influence the type of stretching prescribed for an athlete.
- Type of stretching performed will be dependent on the subsequent activity/sport.
- Rather than focus on flexibility in isolation, the goal should be focused on mobility
The 3 P’s
- Position – can the athlete move into + hold certain general or specific positions
- Pattern – can they repeatedly move into those positions w/ little effort or physical hindrance
- Power – once the above 2 P’s are achieved, then the movts can be Powered or Overloaded (greater resistance, speed or volume of overload)
- Explain factors that affect flexibility.
- Joint Structure: Ball + socket joints, such as the hip + shoulder have a greater ROM than hinge joints (knee).
- Age + Sex: Younger people more flexible than older people. Females more flexible than males.
- Muscle + Connective Tissue: muscle tissue, the musculotendinous unit, tendons, ligs, fascial sheaths, joint capsules, + skin may limit ROM.
- Stretch Tolerance: Ability to tolerate the discomfort may influence ROM.
- Neural Control: ROM influenced by afferent + efferent mechanisms
- Resistance Training: may increase flexibility + assist in the development of force capacity through the enhanced ROM
- Muscle Bulk: Significant muscle bulk may adversely affect ROM by impeding joint movt
- Activity Level: An active person tends to be more flexible than an inactive person
What happens when we stretch?
What Happens when we Stretch?
- Stretch = muscle fibre pulled out to full length + connective tissue reorganized + elongated
- Sarcomeres = overlap of myofilaments decreases
- Collagen fibres align along the same line of force as tension
- Describe how proprioceptors influence stretching and range of motion (ROM).
Proprioceptors + Stretching
- Two important proprioceptors during stretching:
1. Muscle spindles
2. Golgi tendon organs (GTOs)
- Muscle contraction following stretched extrafusal muscle fibers = stretch reflex.
- Stimulation of the muscle spindle (should be avoided when stretching)
- When GTO stimulated causes a muscle to reflexively relax + is called autogenic inhibition.
- Occurs when one simultaneously contracts the muscle that is being passively stretched.
- Relaxation that occurs in the muscle opposing the muscle experiencing increased tension is called reciprocal inhibition
- Occurs when one simultaneously contracts the muscle opposing the muscle that is being passively stretched
- Explain how to perform static stretching
Static Stretch
- A slow + constant stretch held for period of time.
- Does not elicit the stretch reflex of the stretched muscle
Guidelines for Static Stretching
- Get into a position that facilitates relaxation.
- Move to the point in the ROM where you experience a sensation of mild discomfort. If performing partner-assisted PNF stretching, communicate clearly w/ your partner
- Hold stretches for 15 to 30 secs.
- Repeat unilateral stretches on both sides.
Precautions for Static Stretching
- Decrease stretch intensity if you experience pain, radiating symptoms, or loss of sensation.
- Use caution when stretching a hypermobile joint.
- Avoid combination movts that involve the spine (e.g., extension + lateral flexion).
- Stabilizing muscles should be active to protect other joints + prevent unwanted movts.
- Explain how to perform dynamic stretching
Dynamic Stretch
- Functionally based stretching exercise using sport-generic + sport-specific movts.
- Sometimes referred to as mobility drills + can assist w/ skill development (e.g. running drills).
- Preferred method of stretching during warm-up (due to specificity + keeping body temp elevated).
- May not be as effective for increasing ROM as static stretching or proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching
Guidelines for Dynamic Stretching
- Perform 5 to 10 reps for each movt, either in place or over a given distance.
- Where possible, progressively increase the ROM on each rep
- Where appropriate, increase the speed of motion in subsequent sets, but always maintain control of the motion
- Actively control muscular actions as you move through the ROM
- Where appropriate, try to replicate the movts required for sport perf
Precautions for Dynamic Stretching
- Move progressively through the ROM.
- Move deliberately through the motion but without bouncing (movt should be controlled at all times).
- Do not forsake good technique for additional ROM
- Explain how to perform ballistic stretching
- Involves active muscular effort + using a bouncing-type movt w/ end position not held.
- Often used in the pre-exercise warm-up
- Usually triggers the stretch reflex because involved muscles do not relax.
- Athlete needs to be adequately prepared for this type of stretching.
- Explain how to perform PNF stretching
- Usually performed with a partner + involves both passive movt + active (concentric + isometric) muscle actions
- There are three basic types of PNF stretching techniques:
1. Hold-relax
2. Contract-relax
3. Hold-relax w/ agonist contraction
PNF: Hold-Relax
Hold-Relax
- Passive prestretch of hamstrings held at the point of mild discomfort for 10 secs
- The partner then applies a hip flexion force + athlete resists the movt (isometric muscle action) which is held for 6 secs
- Athlete then relaxes, + a passive stretch is performed + held for 30 secs w/ final stretch greater due to autogenic inhibition (i.e. activation of the hamstrings)
PNF: Contract-Relax
Contract-Relax
- Passive prestretch of hamstrings held at the point of mild discomfort for 10 secs.
- Athlete then extends the hip against resistance from the partner (concentric muscle action) through the full ROM.
- Athlete then relaxes, and a passive stretch is performed + held for 30 secs w/ final stretch greater due to autogenic inhibition (i.e. activation of the hamstrings)
PNF: Hold-Relax With Agonist Contraction
Hold-Relax With Agonist Contraction
- Passive prestretch of hamstrings held at the point of mild discomfort for 10 secs.
- The partner then applies a hip flexion force + athlete resists the movt (isometric muscle action) which is held for 6 secs.
- A passive stretch is performed + held for 30 secs w/ the addition of concentric action of the agonist to increase stretch force
- final stretch should be greater, due to reciprocal inhibition (i.e., activation of the hip flexors) + autogenic inhibition (i.e., activation of the hamstrings)
- Final stretch should be greater, due to reciprocal inhibition (i.e., activation of the hip flexors) + autogenic inhibition (i.e., activation of the hamstrings)
- Describe the main purpose of a warm-up and cool-down
- integral part of any training session or comp
- Purpose is to prepare the athlete mentally + physically for exercise or comp
- List and explain the positive effects of a warm-up on subsequent exercise performance.
Positive effects on exercise performance includes:
- Faster muscle contraction + relaxation.
- Improved rate of force development + reaction time.
- Enhanced muscle strength + power.
- Lowered viscous resistance in muscles + joints.
- Greater O2 delivery (due to the Bohr effect).
- Increased blood flow to active muscles.
- Enhanced metabolic reactions.
- Greater psychological preparedness for perf
- Describe the components of a traditional warm-up.
Components of a Warm-Up
- A traditional warm-up involves two key phases.
1. General warm-up
2. Specific warm-up
- Warm-up should progress gradually + provide sufficient intensity to increase muscle + core temps without causing fatigue or reducing energy stores.
- Total duration approximately 10-20 mins (dependent on exercise session + comp).
- The warm-up should end no more than 15 mins before the start of the subsequent activity to be of benefit
- Describe the components of a traditional warm-up.
- general + specific
- General warm-up period
- Aim: increase HR, blood flow, deep muscle temp, respiration rate, + perspiration + decrease viscosity of joint fluids
- Exercise type: Aerobic (e.g. jogging, skipping, or cycling)
- General stretching following aerobic exercise. - Specific warm-up period
- Aim: prepare body w/ similar movts to the targeted exercise/activity
- Exercise type: rehearsal of the skill(s) to be performed
- Explain how to ensure warm-ups can be structured to contribute to the short/long-term development of an athlete.
Targeted and Structured Warm-Ups
- Warm-ups should incorporate short-, medium-, + long-term considerations that will contribute to the overall development of the athlete
- A common structure that addresses all of the key aspects of an effective warm-up is the Raise, Activate + Mobilize, + Potentiate (RAMP) protocol.
- RAMP builds upon the General + Specific warm-up protocol + can be maximized in the short, medium, + long term
RAISE
Raise
- Aim: elevating body temp, HR, respiration rate, blood flow, + joint fluid viscosity via low-intensity activities
- Exercise type: simulating the movt patterns of the upcoming activity
ACTIVATE AND MOBILISE
Activate and Mobilize
- Aim: enhancing range of motion.
- Exercise type: movt patterns required for athletic perf (immediate + future) such as squat patterns + lunge patterns (motor control, stability, + flexibility)
- Exercises using key movt patterns – assist w/ development of the required motor control as well as developing mobility
- Static stretching? Potential negative effects on performance?
- Think about the activities being performed in the training session/comp – specificity.
- Dynamic stretching?
POTENTIATION
Potentiation
- Is defined as the increase in strength of nerve impulses along pathways.
- Aim: progresses athlete to the intensity required for training session or comp
- Exercise type: sport-specific activities
- Describe the purpose of a cool-down and how it is conducted.
Cool-Down
- Low-intensity aerobic exercise of 5-15 mins, static stretching, foam rolling etc
- Used to prevent blood pooling + improve venous return
- May result in a faster recovery of the cardiovascular + respiratory system after exercise.
- Unknown whether a cool down reduces the incidence of postexercise syncope (i.e. fainting or sudden loss of consciousness) + cardiovascular complications
- Explain whether cool-downs are beneficial for an athlete.
What Cool-Downs DO NOT achieve:
- Removal of metabolic byproducts.
- Reducing muscle soreness.
- Reducing muscle damage.
- Faster resynthesis of muscle substrates (e.g. ATP-PC, glycogen).
- Reducing risk of illness (changes in circulating immune cells).
- influence long-term adaptive response.
- Faster recovery of muscle function.
- Attenuate decrease ROM + musculotendinous stiffness
- Enhanced metabolic reactions.
- Greater psychological preparedness for perf
- Improve perceived psychological recovery.
- Prevent injuries
Flexibility Training
- Exact mechanisms responsible for increased flexibility from stretching is unclear.
- Acute effects of stretching on ROM are transient + greatest immediately (lasting from a couple of mins to a day).
- Min of at least two stretching sessions per week needed to improve ROM.
- Stretching should be preceded by a period of general activity to raise muscle temp
- Neural + vascular structures are stretched during flexibility exercises
- Can be performed following practice + comp or as a separate session for ROM improvements
