Being in the off-season, we tend to have more time to ponder on certain things around our refereeing environment that we usually have little time to think about during the busy winter schedule. Today I am going to deal with the importance of a good warm-up, something that many, including myself, may at times treat too lightly.
There is no doubt that time spent on warming up and warming down will improve an referee’s level of performance and accelerate the recovery process needed before training or actually refereeing again.
As a result, the individual referee must learn to regard the warm up/warm down as an essential part of both the training session and the game to be whistled part from also being a way to prevent injuries during those sessions.
Muscle stiffness is thought to be directly related to muscle injury and therefore the warm up should be aimed at reducing muscle stiffness. Flexibility training - stretching - is an area that holds great potential for performance enhancement as well as accelerating recovery between games.
Unfortunately, most people do not reap the benefits from stretching because their technique is counter-productive. Stretching is definitely the most fastidious and particular thing to work on. If it is not done perfectly, at best you will remain the same, and often will even decrease flexibility.
Experts on the matter state that the large majority of athletes do not stretch properly. It is recorded that the latter most often overstretch or stretch across a contracted muscle. This in itself can decrease flexibility and lead to injury.
In reality, coaches and trainers often tend to implement the stretching they themselves learned, but they were then mentored from someone who was educated some 10 years ago who based their teaching on a textbook published over 10 years earlier.
Every person should note that warming up prior to any type of physical activity does a number of beneficial things, but primarily its main purpose is to prepare the body and mind for more strenuous activity.
One of the ways of achieving this is by helping to increase the body’s core temperature, while also increasing the body’s muscle temperature. By increasing muscle temperature one is helping to make the muscles loose, supple and elastic.
An effective warm up also has the effect of increasing both the heart rate and the respiratory rate. This increases blood flow, which in turn increases the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the working muscles. All this helps to prepare the muscles, tendons and joints for more strenuous activity.
Obviously, it is important to start with the easiest and most gentle activity first in any form of warm-up, building upon each part with more energetic activities, until the body is at a physical and mental peak. This is the state in which the body is the most prepared for the physical activity to come, and where the likelihood of sports injury has been minimised as much as possible.
There are three key elements, or parts, which should be included to ensure an effective and complete warm up. They are: the general warm up; static stretching and dynamic stretching.
All three parts are equally important and any one part should not be neglected as each element works to bring the body and mind to a physical peak, ensuring the athlete is prepared for the activity to come. This process will help ensure the athlete has a minimal risk of sports injury.
The general warm up should always consist of a light physical activity. Both the intensity and duration of the general warm up (or how hard and how long), should be governed by the fitness level of the individual referee. It is commonly understood that a correct general warm up for the average person should take about five to ten minutes and result in a light sweat.
Static stretching is a very safe and effective form of basic stretching. There is a limited threat of injury and it is extremely beneficial for overall flexibility. During this part of the warm up, static stretching should include all the major muscle groups, and this entire part should last, on average, for about five to ten minutes.
Static stretching is performed by placing the body into a position whereby the muscle, or group of muscles, to be stretched is under tension. Both the opposing muscle group (the muscles behind or in front of the stretched muscle), and the muscles to be stretched are to be relaxed. Then, after that the latter is accomplished, slowly and cautiously the body is moved to increase the tension of the muscle, or group of muscles to be stretched. At this point the position is held or maintained to allow the muscles and tendons to lengthen.
Finally, a correct warm up should finish with a series of dynamic stretches. However, this form of stretching carries with it a high risk of injury if used incorrectly. Dynamic stretching is more for muscular conditioning than flexibility and is really only suited for well trained, highly conditioned referees/athletes and should only be used after a high level of general flexibility has been established.
Dynamic stretching involves a controlled, soft bounce or swinging motion to force a particular body part past its usual range of movement. The force of the bounce or swing is gradually increased but should never (please beware as I have witnessed some major injuries) become radical or uncontrolled movements.
The above information forms the basis of a complete and effective warm up. However, I am well aware that this entire process is somewhat of an ‘ideal’ or ‘perfect’ warm up. I am also well aware that this is not always possible, or convenient, in the real world. Therefore, the individual referees must become responsible for assessing their own goals and adjusting their warm up accordingly.