.png?width=622&height=622&name=Teambuildr-Icon-72dpi%20(blue,%20padded).png "Teambuildr-Icon-72dpi (blue, padded)"){kind=icon}
If you’re like me, getting started on a warm-up can feel like pulling teeth. Don’t get me wrong, they are incredibly important when looking to set the tone for the work to come. Raising temperature, grooving the patterns, and enhancing neural conductivity are a few key benefits for getting the most out of your workouts.
But yet, warm-ups can feel boring. As beneficial as they are, too many of us run through them just to check the box; if they get dull, it’s hard for folks to put their full effort into getting the value. Our athletes sometimes feel this way.
As infantile as it sounds, people love to play. The competitiveness, the challenge, and the unexpected are all more intriguing than hitting the same old line drills time and time again. What we’ve done recently is use our 7-10 minutes of warm-up time as an opportunity to build in some play to raise core temperature, practice our patterns, increase neural conductivity, AND get cognitive tactile benefits (problem-solving).
Instead of boring you with science-ey jargon, I’ve put together a list of some movements, drills, and games we implement to cover our warm-up bases. These variations of play keep our athletes engaged while deriving high efforts and intent. Plus, it’s just fun. Yes, we still hit lighter load reps of our main exercises after, don’t worry.
Crawling & Bridging
Great to bring people out of their comfort zone while opening up some planes of movement. You can be as creative as you’d like with these but here are a few drills we like:
Cat & Mouse
Whether it be a straight sprint or a shuffle, having a “chase” component always keeps things fiery. Some examples include:
Tag
Ah yes, a classic schoolyard staple. Put your athletes in a 5x5-yard box and watch the magic happen. We’ll mix up contact and no-contact depending on the day; a few of our favorites include:
Lacrosse Ball Games
Who would’ve guessed a small bouncy ball could lead to incredible warm-up games? We’ll use lacrosse balls for races, catch & release drills, and even some wall ball (another schoolyard staple). We’ll even throw in a couple of balls at once for some drills to get the gears going. Some variations include:
In Summary
Your creative mind is the limit for incorporating play into your prep work. The variations for modifying any of the above drills for any population, whether it be teams, small groups, or even yourself, are endless. Go have fun and get to work!
PS: Here’s a bonus video of a simple way to progress your lateral ball catch drills!
No Comments Yet
Let us know what you think