Athletes should stretch muscles (Take them through their full range of movement) both before training, to maintain flexibility and reduce risk of injury during exercise, and after training to develop flexibility, or improve range of movement around the joints.   Note:  please see the bottom of this page for a link to the diagrams for all the following exercises.

Structuring a warm up…

Prior to training sessions or matches, a light warm up should be performed to mobilize joints, and raise heart rate or warm up the muscles, ready for them to be stretched.

Mobility exercises are designed to release synovial fluid in and around the joints of the body (Synovial fluid is basically a joint lubricant that helps prevent wear and tear of the cartilage on bone ends).

Raising the heart rate or warming up the muscles to be stretched is also important, as the muscles in your body can be likened to elastic. At a greater temperature, elastic will stretch more, or further, and your muscles are no different.

…And a cool down

Once the main body of a training session or a match has been completed, a cool down or pulse lowerer should be done, to bring the heart rate and body temperature down gradually, towards it's normal level. It can be dangerous to stop exercising suddenly (especially with high-risk groups), as cooling down aids venous return, or blood flow back to the heart and lungs. Increased blood flow back to the heart and lungs means you take on oxygen quicker and therefore aid recovery more effectively. This should be followed by post exercise stretches, after which a fun element could be included, to make participants laugh and go away with a good feeling.

Pre exercise stretches:

A pre exercise stretch routine should be designed to be easy to get into position. The stretches need to be performed relatively quickly so as not to let the muscles cool down too much before training, and only need to be held for around 10 to 15 seconds each for maintenance of flexibility. Standing stretches are most effective for this.

Stretching routines also need to be balanced, so that all the major muscle groups are taken care of, especially the ones most relevant to the sport. Sport specific stretches for soccer would concentrate mainly on the lower body or legs, all though a whole body approach is recommended.

A good way to remember your routine is to start at the bottom and work your way up. As a team's knowledge of stretching improves, the routine can be progressed to combine lower and upper body stretches to save time. Some upper body stretches can also be done whilst walking to save time.

For examples of Pre exercise or standing stretches, including coaching points, see the next three pages.