Nike Academy - Warm-Up

It’s all in the details. Focus on warming up your muscles to prevent injuries, getting ready for a high intensity battle and sharpening up your ball skills. A good warm-up sets you up for a killer performance.

EQUIPMENT:

10 cones, 10 footballs

SUMMARY:

I. A warm-up should start slowly and progressively get more intense to a point where you are physically, mentally and technically ready to play a match. It should be approximately 20 minutes long and focus on warming up key areas and injury prevention. Warm-up exercises should mimic body movements you make during a game.

II. A good warm-up always starts with light exercise to get the heart rate going and increase blood flow to the muscles. This could be light jogging with skips and arm rotations for 2-3mins.

III. Calf complex stretch: stand up facing a wall. Step forward with your left leg and bend it slightly. Hold the right leg straight. Now lean your upper body towards the wall and hold the stretch for 10 seconds. Repeat on the other side.

IV. Prone glute stretch: lie on the mat with your legs straight and hands spread on both sides. Turn your legs sideways, bending your right leg from the knee and bringing your left hand to hold on to your knee. Keep your upper body straight. Hold for 10 seconds, then repeat on the other side.

IV. Hip flexor stretch: take the lunge position, hands on your sides. Holding your right knee at a 90 degree angle, go as low as you can and hold for 10 seconds. Repeat on the other side.

VI. Quad stretch: find a wall for support. If you don’t have a wall, use a team-mate. Stand on your left leg, bringing your right heel to touch your backside and hold your ankle with your right hand. Hold for 10 seconds. Repeat on the other side.

Active stretching is better than static stretching at this point. Through active stretching you stretch a muscle through movement rather than holding a muscle at one point. You know that you are going to be required to move with some intensity during the game so you should really prepare your muscles to do it.

VII. Follow it up with some glute and core activation exercises, then balance and stability exercises. This could be floor bridges, vertical jumps and holds for 3 seconds and single leg hop and holds for 3 seconds. Then start working on more dynamic exercises, such as lunges, squats and hip rotations. This should be completed quite quickly, going from one exercise to the other.

VIII. Now you can work on some fast feet ladder drills with some reaction drills. Keep this short but ensure you are driving your knees high and pumping your arms.

IX. Now that the muscles are nicely warmed up and the intensity has increased, you should start increasing your running speed. Start by running 20m distances at 50%, then 75%, then finally 100% of your maximum running speed. 10m stints of side shuffles and back peddling followed by a turn and sprint can also be included into this section.

X. Remember to keep getting fluid on board throughout the warm up to remain hydrated.

XI. Now you’re ready to go into possession drills and ball work to get a feel for the game. This helps match specific sharpness and ensures you’re in the right mental state to go out there and play at a high intensity.

XII. Just before kick-off, do what feels best for you. It can be position specific, such as shooting for strikers or defending as a unit for the back four.

XIII. Just before the referee calls the team onto the pitch, do some quick sets of fast feet as a team to get fired up for the match.