The Dynamic Warm-Up

Many of us breeze through a warm up (if we complete one at all).  Instead of properly preparing our body for the task at hand, we simply walk out the door and run.  However in order to prevent injury and improve performance, our body needs proper time to warm-up and prepare.  What does a proper warm-up consist of?  A light jog for 5-10 min followed by a series of dynamic exercises.

Why a dynamic warm up?

Dynamic exercises prepare your body for the activity ahead.  Dynamic exercises elevate your heart rate, increase blood flow, prepare your muscles and joints, and engage your nervous system.  Furthermore, dynamic warm-up exercises incorporate multiple large muscle groups in one exercise leading to overall improved warm-up with fewer exercises.  All of these reasons lead to better performance and fewer injuries.

Start with 5-10 min of light jogging and follow these simple 6 exercises to properly prepare for competition.  Complete each exercise for 25-50 feet.

Heel Pulls

 

•       PROCEDURE: Start in standing position with back straight. As you step forward with right leg, bend left leg, grab toes with right hand, and pull foot towards body. Contract right glute and lift up on right toes. Return to starting position and repeat on other side.

•       COACHING KEY: Keep your chest up. Contract the glute of the leg you are standing on.

•       YOU SHOULD FEEL: A stretch in the glute and quadriceps.

Knee Hug

 

•       PROCEDURE: Start in standing position with back straight. As you step forward with right leg, grasp below the knee of the left leg and pull knee toward chest. Contract your right glute and lift up on right toes. Return to starting position and repeat on other side.

•       COACHING KEY: Keep your chest up. Contract the glute of the leg you are standing on.

•       YOU SHOULD FEEL: A stretch in the glute and the hamstring of your front leg and in the hip flexor of your back leg.

Straight Leg March

 

•       PROCEDURE: Stand straight with arms extended in front of you at shoulder height. Step forward with left leg and flex right hip, bringing right leg up with toes pointed towards fingers. Lower right leg in front of you and repeat with left leg.

•       COACHING KEY: Keep back straight and engage abs for balance. Keep both legs straight.

•       YOU SHOULD FEEL: A stretch in the hamstring.

•       Straight Leg Skip: Add more action to exercise by skipping while leg is raised.

                                              High Knee Walk

•       PROCEDURE: While walking forward, lift one leg up so knee and ankle are parallel to the floor. Grasp leg with hands and gently pull ankle up for a stretch.

•       COACHING KEY: Keep back straight and engage abs for balance.

•       YOU SHOULD FEEL: A stretch in the piriformis and glute.

Sumo Squats

 

•       PROCEDURE: Start with feet shoulder width apart. Take a step out to the left side and lower into a squat with arms extended in front of you. Return to standing while stepping in with right foot, so feet are back to shoulder width. Take another step to the left side and repeat.

•       COACHING KEY: Keep back straight and knees behind toes. Push through your heels.

•       YOU SHOULD FEEL: Activation of the hips and legs.

Forward Lunge with Twist

•       PROCEDURE: Start with feet under hips placing hands on hips or behind head. Take a large step forward with right leg and lower left knee straight down, almost touching the floor. Keeping hips facing forward, twist torso to the right. Hold for a stretch. Return facing forward and raise left knee up. Repeat with a large step forward with the left leg.

•       COACHING KEY: Knees should be in line with toes facing straight ahead.

•       YOU SHOULD FEEL: A stretch in the hip flexors, glutes, and lateral torso. Activation of the long adductors.

Composed by

Adam Rolf and Julia Noonan

Physical Therapists at Lawrence Memorial Hospital

Cheerleading Injury Prevention: 

The Background

By Nami Stone, Physical Therapist and College Cheer Coach

Cheerleading started in 1898 when a few male college students formed the first “pep club” to lead the crowd in cheers during one of the first American football games. It wasn’t until the 1920’s that women started cheering, and skills such as tumbling, fight song motions, and other acrobatics started to emerge to help lead the crowd.

Training camps and the National Cheerleading Association (NCA) emerged in 1961, spurring cheer to be one of the fastest-growing youth activities in the nation. But it wasn’t until the Universal Cheerleading Association (UCA) was formed in 1974 that cheerleading started to look like it does today with partner stunts, pyramids, and routines choreographed to music, culminating in the first ESPN-televised UCA Cheerleading National Championship in 1982.

At the collegiate level, the KU Cheer squad’s primary purpose hasn’t strayed far from the intent of the original pep clubs: to support our athletic teams and energize the crowd. But like most modern squads, we also entertain the crowd by performing difficult and physically demanding stunts, pyramids, basket tosses, and tumbling – the same skills we perform in a routine trying to win a UCA College Cheer National Championship.

But with the advent of modern skills, the physical demands and risk placed on cheerleaders have grown so much that from 1982 to 2008, over half the catastrophic injuries in female athletes involved cheerleading, and was 2^nd overall only to football. The good news is, there has been a marked decrease in cheer injuries over the past several years, probably due to the emergence of the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators (AACCA).

The NCAA partnered with AACCA and Varsity Brands (the leading provider of cheer camps, and parent company of UCA and NCA) to create new high school and college cheer rules to decrease injuries. AACCA made major changes in the skills allowed based on the performance surface. For example, basket tosses can’t be performed on any hard surface, and only limited basket tosses on grass surfaces. From a coaching perspective, all college cheer coaches must be AACCA certified and present in order for their cheerleaders to perform skills. Although it is not mandatory at the high school level, it is highly recommended.  If a coach does not follow the rules and regulations set by AACCA, their certification can be revoked and they cannot coach at the collegiate level. ACCAA certification can also provide some added liability coverage to the coach in the case of injuries.

So how can a cheerleader or parent of a cheerleader keep a participant safe from injury? My most honest answer is that you can’t. Just like all other sporting activities, you can follow all the rules and safety guidelines but there is always a risk of injury. However, there are ways you can decrease your chance of injuries. Below are the recommendations I give to coaches at our summer camps:

1. Know and follow all safety guidelines set forth by ACCAA as well as any additional rules your particular program may have in place.
2. Know the proper progression of skill advancement (i.e. cheerleaders should not be attempting the more advanced skills if they have not mastered the intermediate skills).
3. Know the physical limitations of each member of your team.
4. Do not let an injured cheerleader return to activity until a doctor or a school trainer has released them.
5.  Leave enough time for proper warm up and conditioning at each practice.
6. Make sure your cheerleaders are educated on proper nutrition and conditioning to be in the best physical shape possible.

Also, when choosing a cheer program, try to find one whose coaches are properly trained to ensure that injuries are only a risk, not a probability.

In my next blog entry, I’ll provide exercises and conditioning to help cheerleaders of any age or skill level maximize their performance and minimize their chance of injury.