How To Do A Proper Warm Up In Football

Legendary Italian midfielder Andrea Pirlo claims in his autobiography ‘I Think Therefore I Play’ that he never liked the idea of warming up before games or training. He felt that it was more for the coaches’ satisfaction than anything else. Radical as that may sound though, no professional player – not even this opinionated midfield maestro – has ever been known to avoid warm ups.

It is that important for a football player.

WHY warm up IS IMPORTANT

Thirty minutes of warm up is compulsory for every player in the eighteen member squad before every game. It is true that as kids most people barely need to warm up. This is because our bodies are smaller in size and it does not take it much time to come out of a resting state. But as the body grows in height and muscles develop, it takes longer to completely shake of its resting state so that the muscles may function optimally.

So if we attempt to make sudden movements and intense contractions and stretches without allowing the body this time to gain proper blood circulation and loosen the muscles, we expose ourselves to hamstring injuries, calf muscle injuries, muscle tears and physical problems of the like which take a long time to heal. Even a simple sprint at the beginning of the game can pull you up and keep you on the bench for months.

THE ROUTINE – How To Do A Proper Warm Up In Football?

A standard warming up routine is as follows.

Stage 1: Jogging and running

This part of the warm up is quite subjective as its type and duration is dependent on factors like the temperature, humidity and other environmental concerns. The duration is usually 6 to 8 minutes. It begins invariably with light jogging with speed building up in the last few minutes so that by the end players are lightly sweating but not by any means short of breath. This initializes the process of gradually taking the body out of its inertial state.

For big teams in the professional level, at training the players are given heart rate monitors during treadmill exercises initially to determine how they can work up their heart rates during training so that they can knowingly go up to 160 beats per minute during the final minutes of the jogging and running. This makes warm up more efficient and easier.

Stage 2: Static stretching

A vital part of the whole routine. There has to be at least five minutes of static stretching indoors or outdoors before players go out to play. This is essential to the body for the intense exertions of the game as it stimulates better blood circulation to the muscles and thereby reduces the occurrences of sudden painful muscle rigidity and tendon ruptures while playing.

Static stretching or stretch-holds entail stretching at one place once the body temperature is considerably warm. There should be at least 3 to 4 different routines of passive stretching inclusively involving the calf muscles, the hamstring, lower back, groin, hip, side and shoulders. The stretching should always be to the point of mild tension and never painful. There should not be more than ten repetitions of each subroutine as by then the muscles and joints should be loosened up and rejuvenated.

Stage 3: Dynamic stretching

After static stretching when the muscles are almost at top condition, dynamic stretching begins with the players doing light running and working all the important muscles and joints. This lasts for about 5 to 6 minutes.

Flexibility is the main concern here so the speed of running does not matter so much as the working of all major muscle groups in good rhythm. Jumping and heading, light swerving runs, sideways and backward running are also included herein.

Stage 4: Footwork and agility

The last five minutes is generally reserved for agility drills and on the on-the-ball practices. Shooting, quick short passes, heading, receiving, long balls etc are given some time after stop-start, turn-and-sprint, light skipping drills and other agility exercises.

WARMING DOWN AFTER

Warming down or cooling the body after intense exertions is important to keep the body in balance and to keep the heart rate and blood pressure in control.

Stage 1: Light movements

When the cardiac output is high, begin with gentle movements aiming to stabilize the heart and loosen the muscles back to normal once again. This could be something as simple as walking and taking deep breaths or even light jogs.

Stage 2: Static Stretches

Muscles are clenched up after intense exercises so it is necessary to bring them back to relaxation. Light stretches, massaging and yogic poses are advisable hence with slow and regular breathing being emphasized upon.

Stage 3: Dynamic stretches

Though dynamic stretches while warming down are advisable only considering certain factors like the fatigue levels and muscle rigidity, they can be quite helpful in bringing the body back to stability. 2 to 3 routines with ten repetitions at most are generally advisable and are known to be useful in preventing muscle rigidity injuries, especially the hamstring.