PEAK POWER
Warming up & recovery for optimal performance
Warming up prior to participating in competition or training can help increase performance. A good pre-exercise warm-up circulates blood flow, increases muscle temperature, and increases muscle and tendon suppleness. The warm-up also helps minimize stress on your heart by slowly increasing your heart rate (American Heart Association, 2022). Warming up prepares your body for exercise while also minimizing the risk of injury.
How to warm-up
A proper warm-up includes a period of low-intensity aerobic exercise followed by stretching and sports specific exercise (Fradkin et al., 2010). Performing all three of the recommended warm-up concepts ensure that the muscles are properly warmed. Keep in mind that you want to perform sport specific warm-ups for peak performance, as you wouldn’t want to perform a weighted warm-up prior to running because that could be detrimental to performance.
Checkout this basketball warm-up and training video
upload team video here
Why is recovery important?
The cool-down and recovery are just as critical as the warm-up. Cooling down after physical activity allows your heart rate and body temperature to gradually decrease. You run the risk of feeling ill or fainting if you stop abruptly. It also helps reduce injury risk, ease soreness, promotes relaxation, and prepares you for your next performance or training session.
Recovery methods
Hydration
We lose a notable amount of fluid while exercising and its crucial to replace these fluids post exercise. Rehydration should take place within 30 minutes after exercise.
Massage
Massage aids in recovery by alleviating stress, delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and swelling.
Stretching
Stretching is one of the most used recovery forms. It helps improve muscle tone, reduce risk of injury and build up of lactic acid.
Cold water immersion
CWI has become increasingly popular in recent years. Submerging your body in cold water helps alleviate pain and soreness, and increase your mood. Recovery works best 24-72 hours after exercise
References
American Heart Association. (2022, October 10). Warm up, cool down. www.heart.org.
https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics/warm-up-cool-down
Brager, Dr. A. (2022). Athlete recovery techniques to achieve peak performance. NASM. https://blog.nasm.org/recovery-techniques-for-athletes
Crowther, F., Sealey, R., Crowe, M., Edwards, A., & Halson, S. (2017). Team sport athletes' perceptions and use of recovery strategies: a mixed-methods survey study. BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation, 9(1). https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.library.unlv.edu/apps/doc/A482649571/AONE?u=unlv_main&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=50e0424d
Fradkin, A., Zazryn, T., & Smoliga, J. (2010). Effects of Warming-up on Physical Performance: A Systematic Review With Meta-analysis. 24(1), 140–148. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181c643a0
Terrados, N., Mielgo-Ayuso, J., Delextrat, A., Ostojic, S. M., & Calleja-Gonzalez, J. (2019). Dietetic-nutritional, physical and physiological recovery methods post-competition in team sports. 59(3), 415–428. https://doi.org/10.23736/S0022-4707.18.08169-0