We’re all guilty of it. Try to touch your toes, shake your arms, and start your workout. The common complaint is that we don’t have time to workout, so we certainly don’t have time for a proper warm up. Truth is, a proper warm up will improve your performance, but a lot of us don’t know how to do it correctly.
The goal of a good warm up is to increase muscle temperature, flexibility, and improve your bodies overall physiological responses. A recent study in Sports Health Journal, observed warm-up routines for local sports teams. The response was varied; 70% included only non-FIFA 11+ exercises (More on that later), 6% were only jogging, and 10% were only sport specific activities. The primary concern is that static stretching was observed in 15% of all warm-ups. It has been well established that static stretching does not prevent injury before a sporting event. A proper warm up should be dynamic, aerobically challenging, and involve your whole body. That brings us back to the FIFA 11+ warm up.
The FIFA 11+ (yes, the soccer FIFA) warm up routine was created as an injury prevention program. It takes approximately 20 minutes to perform and includes strength, plyometrics, running, and balance exercises. Before you go workout; lift weights, run, or whatever you do, remember to do a proper warm-up. You’ll be surprised by your improved performance, and reduced injury risk.
FIFA11 PDF
