It shouldn’t be hard to motivate yourself to perform warm-up exercises before any kind of match. Spending 15-20 minutes doing so will put you in the best possible position to make a fast start and reduce the risk of picking up an injury in the frantic early stages of the game. And yet for many of us “warming up” consists of taking turns blasting shots at the keeper or getting bat on ball for five minutes.
You can rectify that situation by following this warm-up routine from Vinesh Tirumalasetti, a strength and conditioning coach for Institute of Sports Science and Technology, Pune.
Jogging
Jogging across the pitch will increase blood flow to your muscles and bring your heart rate up.
Dynamic Warm-up stretches
Dynamic stretching – stretching while moving – before you play can improve your flexibility and mobility, so be sure to spend around 10 minutes doing the below exercises.
1 Linear knee raise
Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart and arms resting at your sides. Slowly bring your knee up towards your chest. Pause at the top.
2 Walking lunge with rotation
Start with your feet hip-width apart and your arms extended out in front of you. Step forwards with one foot into a lunge, bending both knees, and rotate your arms and torso over your lead leg. Rotate back to neutral and stand up.
3 Carioca
Begin with your feet a little wider than hip-distance apart. Cross your left foot behind your right foot, then take your right foot over so you’re back to your starting position. Then cross your left foot in front of your right foot. Continue moving until you reach the end of your planned distance.
4 Inchworm
Stand with your feet close together. Keeping your legs straight, stretch down and put your hands on the floor directly in front of you. Walk your hands forwards slowly until you’re in a press-up position, then walk your feet forwards until they reach your hands. Then walk your hands out to again and repeat.
5 Thoracic spine rotation
Standing with one foot placed in front of the other, lift your arms out to your sides to shoulder height and rotate your upper body from side to side.
Drills
Fast drills are another important part of your warm-up. These types of exercises are designed to improve your agility and bring your heart rate up.
1 Mini sprints
Do these with your team-mates to get everyone ready for the game ahead.
2 Fast feet
Jog 10 metres, then take as many steps as possible in the next 10-metre interval. Then jog another 10 metres and repeat.
At ISST, Pune, our training programs for athletes are backed by science, and our Director, Dr. Vipul Lunawat leaves no stone unturned when it comes to ensuring that the High Performance programmes for athletic training are led by coaches who are qualified in Sports Science themselves.
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