Warm Up And Cool Down

Question 1

What does a warm up do

Answer 1

A warm-up will prepare your mind & body for the workout, helping to minimise the risk of muscle & joint injury. The harder your workout, the longer you should spend warming-up
•A safe, appropriate & effective warm-up should include: pulse-raising activity & dynamic flexibility exercises.

Question 2

What does a cool down do

Answer 2

A cool down will bring the body back to normal conditions gradually & safely

Question 3

What is a pulse raising activity

Answer 3

Pulse-raising activity involves working the major muscles of the body in rhythmic movements

Question 4

How do I plan a pulse raising activity?

Answer 4

-Choose safe & appropriate pulse raising activities: should match the type of exercise that you are going to use in the workout or sport
-Decide the intensity: to start use low intensity (e.g. jogging) & gradually raise the intensity towards the level to be used in the workout (e.g. sprints at the end)
-Decide the time: the time spent will depend on the individual & outside temperature. Generally, when your body starts to sweat

Question 5

What is dynamic flexibility

Answer 5

Dynamic flexibility exercises are used in the warm-up to loosen the joints so they can move freely & stretch the muscles, tendons & ligaments.

Question 6

How would you plan flexibility exercises

Answer 6

To ease tension in tight muscles, best to develop flexibility due to warm muscles & pliable
1.Choose appropriate flexibility: do dynamic/ballistic or static (passive/active), cover the main areas used in main exercise but do in order.
2.Decide intensity: static stretch slowly to normal limit & stretch until mild tension is felt
3.Decide on time/reps/sets: hold stretch until mild tension is felt for 20-60 secs, reps used to improve/develop flexibility, doing dynamic do a fixed no. of reps for each muscle.