The general threads in this half of our warm up include
- Soft Tissue Prep (usually started 10 min before practice). Daily soft tissue maitenence is a must. Extra time is spend on common areas like calves, groin, quads, lats/teres major, pecs, and so on. Athletes with individual movement prep programs may do those instead
- Non Impact Based Joint / Muscular Prep. I personally feel soft tissue work and this step are crucial to do before running or other more dynamic stretching is performed. I get concerned when the body is not warm or soft tissue is not prepared to start aggressive running and jumping parts of a warm up. As you can see I have our girls work through neck, shoulders, wrists, hips, knees, etc.
- Metabolic / Cardiovascular Prep – More traditional running and skipping type laps geared more at increasing body temperature following soft tissue and light joint prep.
- Dynamic Stretching – Series of multi-plane dynamic stretches through full ranges of motion always with control and technique as the emphasis. See subtitles for more specific details, but I try to emphasize working from easier single planes to more complex or multi-plane movements.
In my view, during any warm up we are looking to
- Activate the nervous and muscular system for the training load
- Prepare the available range of motion that will be used during training
- Increase body temperature
- Move within all planes of movement, including rotational and expanded ranges needed for gymnastics
- Practice critical “basics” of movement and gymnastics technique such as core control, landing mechanics, hollow/arch shapes, handstands, and more