cycling, distance running, field events, football, marathon training, rugby, running, skiing

TRAINING ADVICE
Warm ups
Warming up prior to exercise, helps lower your risk of injuries and the aches and pains that come with exercise.
The physiological reason is to assist your circulatory system in pumping the blood carrying oxygen to your muscles. The aim is to increase circulation around the body, in a gradual manner, without putting any pressure onto the body. A proper warm-up before vigorous exercise safely prepares the body for the workload. Cold muscles do not absorb shock or impact as well, and are more susceptible to injury. Warm muscles stretch better and allow greater range of motion for the joints.

A warm-up helps your body prepare itself for exercise both mentally and physically, and reduces the chance of injury. During a warm-up, any injury or illness you have can often be recognized, and further injury prevented. Other benefits of a proper warm up include:
• Increased movement of blood through your tissues, making the muscles more pliable.
• Increased delivery of oxygen and nutrients to your muscles by increasing the blood flow. This prevents you from getting out of breath early or too easily.
• Prepares your muscles for stretching (which should follow a good warm up)
• Prepares your heart for an increase in activity, preventing a rapid increase in blood pressure
• Prepares you mentally for the upcoming exercise
• Primes your nerve-to-muscle pathways to be ready for exercise
• Improves coordination and reaction times
Stretching
Flexibility training is broadly accepted as a way to increase joint mobility and reduce injuries. The goal of stretching is to optimize joint mobility while maintaining joint stability. Although research has shown that different stretching methods will improve joint flexibility, it should be noted that inappropriate stretching can cause injury and impair joint stability. Recently, researchers have promoted the concept of functional range of motion. This refers to developing the flexibility necessary for a specific activity or sport without compromising joint stability.
As you age, your muscles tighten and range of motion in the joints can be minimized. This can put a damper on active lifestyles and even hinder day-to-day, normal motions. Tasks that used to be simple, such as zipping up a dress or reaching for a can off of the top shelf, now become extremely difficult. A regular stretching program can help lengthen your muscles and make daily living activities easier.

Everyone can learn to stretch, regardless of age or flexibility. Stretching should be a part of your daily routine, whether you exercise or not. There are simple stretches you can do while watching TV, on the computer, or getting ready for bed. If you are doing strength training exercises, you can stretch in between sets. It feels good and saves time from stretching at the end of the workout!

It does not have to involve a huge time commitment, but stretching can end up giving you huge results! Here are just a few of the benefits you can expect from a regular stretching program:
• Reduced muscle tension
• Injury prevention
• Increased range of movement in the joints
• Enhanced muscular coordination
• Increased circulation of the blood to various parts of the body
• Increased energy levels (resulting from increased circulation)
• Delayed onset of muscle fatigue
• Enhanced performance in daily life, sports, or other physical activity
• Improved posture
• Mental relaxation
• Added variety, enjoyment, and a sense of satisfaction with your exercise program
Stretching is important for people of all ages. One of the greatest benefits of stretching is that you’re able to increase the length of both your muscles and tendons. This leads to an increased range of movement, which means your limbs and joints can move further before an injury occurs. Stretching can help to prevent an injury by promoting recovery and decreasing soreness, and ensures that your muscles and tendons are in good working order. The more conditioned your muscles and tendons are, the better they can handle the rigors of sport and exercise, and the less likely that they'll become injured.

So all you athletes out there listen up – especially if any of you have read the article that Colin Jackson wrote!! If you’ve ever met me or been treated by me you will understand how happy I was to finally have a someone high up in the sporting food chain reiterate exactly what I had been saying for years.

Athletes need to be flexible, but also stable at that range of flexibility. Hopefully the next part of this article will take that a stage further when we review core stability (when i get around to blogging it!!).

Again remember Take care, train hard, train well but most importantly have fun – if it’s going to hurt this much you may as well enjoy it!!!!

	Author:	physioroute (physioroute's profile, physioroute's blog)
	Posted On:	Mon, 2008-03-03 15:55
	Tags:	cycling, distance running, field events, football, marathon training, rugby, running, skiing, soccer training, sprinting, triathlon, exercise, fitness, injury, training, conditioning, endurance, flexibility, overtraining, proprioceptive, stretching, technique, warm up and winning
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