I apologise for leaving readers hanging after my post about warming up posted more than 4 weeks ago but there has been some football to watch and comment on (Euro 2012) with games on TV for the last 11 nights.
In addition, both my wife and son have suffered injuries incurred while horse riding and although their injuries weren't serious, my wife is still experiencing some discomfort after nearly two weeks. It caused a bit of disruption to our usual routine as you can imagine.
So hopefully you haven't all been training and then suffering from DOMS (Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness) for want of an effective warm down! My warm down is intended to ease your muscles back towards a rested state as well as trying to drive any lactic acid (which causes cramp) out of the legs. Again I need to point out that I am not a qualified training instructor nor medial expert but the warm down I use has been borrowed from people who have had access to qualified personnel.
The first thing to do is to let your pulse drop down to around 67% of maximum (220bpm- age) and then
Each one of these stretches should be held for between 20-30 seconds. The first stretch is to stretch the Achilles tendon. This is achieved by placing one knee on the ground and lining up the heel of the other foot (with the foot flat on the floor alongside the knee), keeping the upper body upright before leaning the weight of the body slightly forward and holding. It is important not to rock backwards and forwards, but just to hold the position. It's also important that the movement forward is done slowly and in a controlled manner. When moving back to the start position, this also needs to be done slowly and in a controlled manner. It's then time to swap Achilles and repeat the exercise on the foot which was previously flat on the floor.
The next stretch is intended to stretch out the calf muscles and the tendons which run up inside the calf (Soleus tendon) which have caused me problems over the last 5 years. The start position involves bending at the waist, placing both hands on the ground, shoulder width apart and moving the feet back until your body makes a wide, inverted V shape and gently push the heel of one foot down to the ground so that the calf stretches and hold as above. Ease up that foot and swap to the other foot, going through the same gradual push down with the heel and hold. Take care also to stand up slowly in case you experience a rush of blood to the head which makes you dizzy!
Moving up the leg, it's time to stretch out the front of the thigh. This is achieved by flicking one leg up behind you and pulling the foot close into the crease of your backside. The quality of this stretch depends on being able to keep both thighs aligned and the knees together. Hold that position for around 25 seconds before slowly releasing the foot and swapping legs. Often you can be wobbling around so it helps either to rest your free hand on a training partner's shoulder or to hold on to a goalpost.
It's now time to stretch off the hamstrings. This is achieved by standing with both feet together before stepping forward a half pace and gradually sitting down, while keeping the outstretched leg straight. You can steady your balance by placing your hands just above the outstretched knee but beware pressing down as this places pressure on the knee joint which can cause injury. Slowly return to an upright position and then repeat with the other leg.
The penultimate exercise for the legs is to stretch out the groin area. If you stand upright with your feet a little wider than shoulder width apart and lean out over one of the knees so the weight is transferred on to one foot. After holding for around 25 seconds slowly lean to the other side and transfer your weight over the other foot, holding for 25 seconds and then returning to an upright position.
The final stretch is to stretch out the hip flexor which is the area that runs down across the front of the hip bone and down the front of the thigh. To stretch this area, adopt a similar position to the first exercise but move the foot flat against the floor forward, so the back of the heel is 15cm further forward than the front of the knee, while keeping the upper body upright, before pushing forward slightly with the hips. This position should be held for 25 seconds before being repeated with the other hip.
And that is it. You are warmed down and your main muscle groups are stretched off to reduce the possibility of you hurting 36 hours after your work-out!
Continue reading...
In addition, both my wife and son have suffered injuries incurred while horse riding and although their injuries weren't serious, my wife is still experiencing some discomfort after nearly two weeks. It caused a bit of disruption to our usual routine as you can imagine.
So hopefully you haven't all been training and then suffering from DOMS (Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness) for want of an effective warm down! My warm down is intended to ease your muscles back towards a rested state as well as trying to drive any lactic acid (which causes cramp) out of the legs. Again I need to point out that I am not a qualified training instructor nor medial expert but the warm down I use has been borrowed from people who have had access to qualified personnel.
The first thing to do is to let your pulse drop down to around 67% of maximum (220bpm- age) and then
- begin jogging for 30 seconds
- walk for 25 seconds
- jog for 25 seconds
- walk for 20 seconds
- jog for 20 seconds
- walk for 15 seconds
- jog for 15 seconds
- walk for 10 seconds
- jog for 10 seconds
- walk for 10 seconds
Each one of these stretches should be held for between 20-30 seconds. The first stretch is to stretch the Achilles tendon. This is achieved by placing one knee on the ground and lining up the heel of the other foot (with the foot flat on the floor alongside the knee), keeping the upper body upright before leaning the weight of the body slightly forward and holding. It is important not to rock backwards and forwards, but just to hold the position. It's also important that the movement forward is done slowly and in a controlled manner. When moving back to the start position, this also needs to be done slowly and in a controlled manner. It's then time to swap Achilles and repeat the exercise on the foot which was previously flat on the floor.
The next stretch is intended to stretch out the calf muscles and the tendons which run up inside the calf (Soleus tendon) which have caused me problems over the last 5 years. The start position involves bending at the waist, placing both hands on the ground, shoulder width apart and moving the feet back until your body makes a wide, inverted V shape and gently push the heel of one foot down to the ground so that the calf stretches and hold as above. Ease up that foot and swap to the other foot, going through the same gradual push down with the heel and hold. Take care also to stand up slowly in case you experience a rush of blood to the head which makes you dizzy!
Moving up the leg, it's time to stretch out the front of the thigh. This is achieved by flicking one leg up behind you and pulling the foot close into the crease of your backside. The quality of this stretch depends on being able to keep both thighs aligned and the knees together. Hold that position for around 25 seconds before slowly releasing the foot and swapping legs. Often you can be wobbling around so it helps either to rest your free hand on a training partner's shoulder or to hold on to a goalpost.
It's now time to stretch off the hamstrings. This is achieved by standing with both feet together before stepping forward a half pace and gradually sitting down, while keeping the outstretched leg straight. You can steady your balance by placing your hands just above the outstretched knee but beware pressing down as this places pressure on the knee joint which can cause injury. Slowly return to an upright position and then repeat with the other leg.
The penultimate exercise for the legs is to stretch out the groin area. If you stand upright with your feet a little wider than shoulder width apart and lean out over one of the knees so the weight is transferred on to one foot. After holding for around 25 seconds slowly lean to the other side and transfer your weight over the other foot, holding for 25 seconds and then returning to an upright position.
The final stretch is to stretch out the hip flexor which is the area that runs down across the front of the hip bone and down the front of the thigh. To stretch this area, adopt a similar position to the first exercise but move the foot flat against the floor forward, so the back of the heel is 15cm further forward than the front of the knee, while keeping the upper body upright, before pushing forward slightly with the hips. This position should be held for 25 seconds before being repeated with the other hip.
And that is it. You are warmed down and your main muscle groups are stretched off to reduce the possibility of you hurting 36 hours after your work-out!
Continue reading...
