Pioneer Valley Youth Sports and Fitness Institute

the source for sound athletic advice

Dynamic Warm-Up and Flexibility

A warm-up and stretching period prior to a workout or competition is of extreme importance.  The warm-up increases heart rate, blood flow, muscle temperature, and viscosity of joint fluids thus allowing for greater flexibility.  Flexibility is the range of motion about a joint, which includes its surrounding muscles. Often a static stretch is performed, this occurs when the stretch is constant and held for a duration of 15 to 30 seconds.

With the concept of sport-specific and functional training in mind it makes sense to ask these questions.  Is it logical to prepare to move by standing still for an extended period of time? Should one move slowly, or not at all, in order to prepare to move quickly? Is it best to sit down and be still to prepare to be on your feet? Questions such as these may help put the dynamic warm-up and stretching into perspective. 

Dynamic flexibility refers to the resistance of a joint during the range of movement, therefore, the warm-up should be set up to gradually increase the stress on the muscle along with the intensity of the movement, up to full speed. A dynamic warm-up will generally take about 15 to 20 minutes. Athletes will often feel exhausted at the end.  An added benefit of a dynamic warm-up is that it will allow an athlete to emphasize fundamentals of movement, whether in a linear or lateral direction. The athlete can prepare mentally by focusing on correct body position and foot placement when performing movement drills. If athletes are going to be performing speed development drills the dynamic warm-up is great tool for teaching sound basic mechanics. Likewise for lateral movement, if lateral speed drills are the focus of the workout the warm-up will allow the athlete to focus on hip abductors and adductors, emphasize proper hip extension in order to accelerate to the right or left, or prepare for deceleration in order to accelerate in another direction.

When conducting a dynamic warm-up that prepares the athlete for movement in a linear direction both forward and backwards movements are necessary. The following is a sample list of movements to perform (often referred to as ‘form running’).

•High knee walk

•High knee skip

•High knee run

•Straight leg march

•Straight leg skip

•Backward run

•Backward pedal

Through these movements muscle groups such as the hip flexors, hamstrings, glutes, and quadriceps have been targeted. With these movements the one muscle group is warming-up the opposite muscle group is going through a dynamic stretch.

A warm-up focusing on lateral movement should emphasize the hip flexors, hamstrings, glutes, and quadriceps as well, but should include hip abductors and adductors too.  The following is a sample list of movements to perform.

•Lateral squat

•Side step squat

•Lateral skip

•Side shuffle

•Carioca

Performing a dynamic warm-up prior to a workout or competition allows the athlete to increase heart rate, blood flow, muscle temperature, and viscosity of joint fluids thus allowing for greater flexibility. The athlete is preparing to move, by moving; the athlete is preparing to move quickly by progressively moving faster in the warm-up period; the athlete is preparing to be on their feet by warming-up and stretching on their feet.  An athlete can mentally prepare for movement by focusing on body position and foot placement during movement. Through a dynamic warm-up the athlete is warming-up one muscle and stretching its opposite. An effective dynamic warm-up includes movement in directions that best prepare the athlete specific for their sport or activity.

Len Haggerty is a Sports Performance coach operating STRIDES Performance & Wellness, Inc. in Northampton, MA. He provides an experience for youths, athletes, and adults of all ages and abilities to discover their athletic potential. Len can be reached at len@strideshpi.net to answer any questions regards to performing a dynamic warm-up.