Chapter 7

Pre-Workout Stretching and Warm-ups

In a nutshell, warm-ups and stretching prevent injury and increase performance.

Flexibility for a fuller muscle contraction.

When you are flexible your muscles have much more leverage in which to exert maximum force. Alternate muscle groups (ex-quads vs hamstrings, biceps vs triceps) also need to be free of stiffness, or a lack of flexiblity, in order to contract at full force. Let me explain:

In order for you to fully flex your bicep your tricep has to be fully extended or stretched. Thus by training your tricep to be more flexible you are providing LESS resistance to the contracting bicep. Flexibilty will help EVERY muscle in your body to contract with less resistance.

Flexiblity for injury prevention.

The same principle of opposing muscle groups will also greatly reduce the likelihood of nagging injuries such as patellar tendonitits (jumper's knee). If your hamstring is tight, it will pull on your quad muscle, which will over time aggravate your patellar tendon. Stretching your hamstring alleviates the stress on the quad, and thus releases the tension in your patellar tendon.

Greater range of motion and leverage.

Think if you were a boxer but your rotator cuff was stiff and you could only rear your elbow back half of what you normally could. Think of how limited the power in your punch would be because of the lack of range of motion. Your body needs to be free of resistance in order to have smooth and complete range of motion.

Other benefits.

We talked about the Golgi tendon organ in prior chapters. To sum it up, the Golgi tendon organ inhibits force generation in proportion to how much force your joints and ligaments can handle. Stories are told of mothers exerting superhuman strength to lift cars to save their children. This happens when the Golgi tendon organ is chemically bypassed because of a spike in adrenaline. It is posited that high flexibliity, which in turns strengthens supporting structures, in cooperation with proper plyometrics will cause the Golgi tendon organ to allow you to exert more force.

The synergistic effect of great flexiblity.

As your muscles contract more fully, and enjoy a complete and unrestricted range of motion, you will experience the ability to use your current and new strength as never before. This will not happen overnight, but it will happen.

How to get started training.

Warm-ups are typically boring, so most of us don’t take advantage of what a warm-up can do for us. Here is a brief explanation of how they can help: When your muscles are warm they are able to work at peak performance. How much higher can you jump after you have had a chance to play a game and warm up?  A good warm-up allows your intensity level to be greatly increased. Greater intensity will mean greater gains.

How it works.

As your body moves around your heart rate increases to pump blood to your organs. The increase in blood flow raises your body temperature, and your muscles are physically warmer. Your warmer muscles are more elastic and less prone to harmful damage that may become strains or full-out muscle tears. As your blood flow is increased your muscles cells dilate, allowing your muscle to better use the blood flow for stronger contractions (also known as improved performance.)

Warm up and stretch at the same time.  I recommend this because if you warm up beforehand and take fifteen minutes to stretch, you will be cold again before you are finished stretching. This program uses stretching all throughout the workout.  Stretching is very important for your vertical and I recommend that you stretch your muscles in between each exercise as well as during warm-ups.

 

1. Warming Up

The following are suggestions for getting your muscles warm:

 

Choose a low intensity activity to warm the muscles (jogging, biking, etc.)

-         My favorite activity is to run laps around the gym dribbling with my left hand and making left-handed shots every lap.  Doing this makes my left hand just as strong as my right while I warm up.

-         I also enjoy riding a bike for 5-10 minutes while I read information on vertical jump training.

 

Walk on your heels up and down the court one time.  Stop to rest at each side. Walking on your heels is a great way to strengthen your anterior tibialis, which is the opposing muscle to your calf. Doing this will provide better balance in your lower leg.

Lightly jump rope in 30 second intervals.

Caution: Your warm-up should not bring you to any point of fatigue. You should have a small amount of perspiration but it should not zap energy meant for intense exercise.

2. Stretching

 

The following stretches are recommended; however, you may feel free to add stretches of your own.

 

Hold all stretches between 5-10 seconds.  2-4 sets of each during the entire workout is fine.  It is okay to do additional sets. You can do the following set of stretches in a sequence.

Cross Your Feet and Hang: Switch legs and repeat.

 

Calf Stretch: Find a pole or solid object and place the flat of your foot on the pole.  Pull your body towards the pole and feel the stretch in your calf.  Switch legs.

 

 

 

V-sit and Reach, Leg Hugs, Back Stretch, Crab Stretch:
Sit down with your legs out in front of you, one towards the left and one towards the right.  Reach towards each leg and towards the middle.  Before you stand up pull one leg toward your body allowing the foot to go over your leg on the other side. Repeat with the other leg.  Before you get up, roll onto your back and bring your legs over your head.  Try to get your knees to touch the ground on the side of your head. Before you get up, arch your back and hold yourself up with your arms making a bridge.  Hold for 5 seconds, relax and repeat 3 times.

Roll over onto your stomach to prepare for the next set of exercises.

Push Up Stretch:  Push up the front half of your body allowing you to feel the stretch in your back. Hold 3 seconds and repeat. Stand up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Neck Rolls:  Roll your neck in a full circle and apply gentle but firm pressure using your hands to feel the stretch on all angles.

 

 

 

 

 

Groin Squat: From a standing position squat down and put your elbows in between your legs. Try and get them to touch the ground.  Hold and feel the pull in your groin.

 

 

 

 

 

Then, standing with your legs spread wide:

Splits: Try to do the splits. Support yourself with your arms. Feel the pull. Do not injure yourself.

Ankle Rolls:  Point your toes towards the ground and roll your toe around feeling the pressure on all points of your ankle.

Quad Pulls:  Grab your foot with the opposite arm and pull up.  If you are able to touch your foot to your tail bone allow the foot to pull away from your body and continue pulling your leg back for a fuller stretch.

Anterior Tibialis Stretch:  Sitting on your knees lean back onto your heels and try to flatten the back of your foot to the ground. A flexible and loose anterior tibialis will allow your ankle explosion to be unimpeded.