How do I know a quick 5 minute stretch doesn’t make you match ready? Because that’s what I did when I arrived at my first game, and I see many others do it too! In my first game, I played 5 minutes, went on one run down the right flank and tore my calf. This left me out of a league pushing team for many weeks and feeling depressed about not being able to do one of the key things that attracted me to losing weight with MAN v FAT Football in the first place.
Is there anything that could have prevented this? Maybe, but we can’t be sure. Injuries can happen at any point. For example, many ACLs I’ve seen have come from a contactless motion, like a ‘jarring’ of the knee on perfectly healthy and fit players. Nothing is a guarantee, but you can try and prevent any muscle injuries occurring and this can be by doing a warm up before the game.
A warm up essentially prepares muscles for the exercise and movements they’re about to perform. Warm ups help loosen joints and stretch muscles due to a number of factors that change during stretching. A good warm up can decrease stiffness of connective tissues, increase nerve impulse and increase sensitivity of nerve receptors.
Clinical studies have found that structured warm up routines can reduce injury risk by a whopping 50%. A 30 minute warm up also improves blood flow which improves oxygen delivery and prolongs fatigue. This can help your muscles and discourage rips or tears. It also gradually increases your heart rate and cardiovascular demand ready for the game ahead.
Brukner and Khan (the bible of sports medicine) lists simple warm up routines that include jogging, general stretching (static and dynamic) and resistance exercises. Many researchers believe that a full range of motion created through stretching also reduces muscle soreness and improves performance.
You’re best off tailoring movements specific to the sport or exercise you’re about to do. So in the case of football, striking the ball and practising shots into a spare goal are great warm up activities.
As well as the physiological benefits you get by warming up before a match, mentally they have a lot to offer too. It gives you time to be self aware and to concentrate on the game ahead, to paint a mental image for what may happen. A plan can calm a person down, and relax them. It also gives you an opportunity to chat and have some banter with your teammates. Jumping straight into a game without preparation can throw you off completely. Use the time to think about the game ahead. Focusing will help improve technique, coordination, and skill.
What can I do to warm up?
Jogging
Light intensity jogging gets the body used to the possible demands of the game. It gets your body warm and your heart beating at a faster rate.
If you cannot jog then a brisk walk will also be effective, 5 to 10 minutes is sufficient.
Resistance bands
With resistance bands you can make a more dynamic and loaded warm up routine. They’re different to other types of stretches and activate targeted muscles. They also put muscles under load and research into loaded warm ups for upper body warm ups for racket sports found that loaded dynamic warm ups enhanced power and strength performance. Boom!
Here’s some examples of stretches you can do using a resistance band.
- Sidewalks
- Donkey kicks
- Kicking motions
Static stretching
Static stretching is a type of stretch position which happens in a static state and you hold the stretch for around 30 seconds. It’s the safest and most simplistic type of stretching. While holding the position, tension from the stretch relaxes the muscles.
This should be comfortable, and if you feel any pain or discomfort then you should release it slightly as you’re overstretching.
Here’s some examples of stretches you can include in your warm up.
- Calf stretches
- Cross arm stretches
- Hamstring stretches
Dynamic stretching
By far the favourite and you will have seen many football players do these collectively at matches. These stretches involve motion and can be specific to the sport you play. It offers a much broader range of motion and dynamic stretching also offers an aspect of cardio as it offers movement during them which in turn increases your heart rate. Other cardio movements offer one plane of motion, but dynamic stretching offers a much broader variation of that specific motion. There are also many other benefits including increased nerve activity, sending appropriate stimulus for the activity at hand, and increased mobility decreases the potential injury risk.
Warm up do’s and don’ts
Don’t push yourself too hard! Let’s be honest, we are not in a fit state or we wouldn’t be here. Pushing yourself during dynamic stretching and light cardio will affect your performance on the pitch. You need to find the right intensity for you. You need to break a sweat, but not ‘blowing’ before you kick off. Don’t be thinking ‘No pain, no gain’. That’s not what we’re after.
Do aim to feel some activation of the muscles, but don’t seek a ‘deep stretch’. This is where static stretching can be the enemy, and why many say to keep static stretching out of a plan or to keep after workouts. Due to our fitness levels, they are needed but it’s a fine margin. Do keep static stretches to a minimum.
Don’t include ballistic stretches. You may do your own research and read about ballistic stretches, which involve vigorous movements at the end of a stretch. If you write your own warm up plans, it would be unwise to add these due to the energy they use. Some research says they are optimum stretches, others suggest otherwise. I would suggest keeping away.
Do focus on imitations of football movements or workout movements are the most efficient. Warm up well doing lower body movements and cardio.
Warm up plan
Resistance bands
- Side walks: 30 seconds left and right
- Donkey kicks: 30 seconds both legs
- Front kicks: 30 seconds both legs
- Adductor stretch: both legs
- Abductor stretch: both legs
Dynamic stretches
I find the best way to do this is setting up cones 15 paces apart. Dynamic stretches involve movement, so do the stretches while walking or moving from one cone to the other. I would also start with a jog with these cones also.
- High knees
- Front leg flicks
- Mimicking passes: alternating left and right
- Open the gate
- Close the gate
- Cross body kicks
- Sweep the turf
- Heel flicks
- Slight jog while doing arm rotations
- High knee skips
Static stretches
- Hamstring stretch
- Quad stretch
- Groin stretch
- Cross body arm stretch
That should get you warmed up and ready to play!
