Warming up and cooling down
Physical Education · Key Stage 3 · The School
What a warm-up does
A warm-up raises heart rate and breathing so more oxygen reaches the muscles, raises muscle temperature so they contract and relax faster, increases the range of movement at joints, and prepares attention. A cold muscle asked for a sudden maximum effort is the one that tears, which is why the sequence matters more than the exercises chosen.
Three parts
An effective warm-up moves through three stages: PULSE RAISER — gentle continuous movement to lift heart rate; MOBILITY and DYNAMIC STRETCHING — moving the joints through the range the activity needs; and SKILL REHEARSAL — the movements of the activity itself at low intensity. Static stretching held for a long time before explosive activity is now generally avoided.
Cooling down
A cool-down keeps moving gently so the heart rate falls gradually rather than abruptly, which helps blood return from the working muscles instead of pooling. Gentle static stretching afterwards is where flexibility work belongs. All of this is done supervised, in a hall or on a field — the reasoning is here, the session happens with a coach.
(1) PULSE RAISER, 5 minutes: easy jogging and side-steps, until you are warm and slightly breathless. (2) MOBILITY AND DYNAMIC STRETCHING, 5 minutes: leg swings, lunges with a twist, arm circles — moving through the range, never held. (3) SKILL REHEARSAL, 5 minutes: the actual movements of the sport, building to full pace. Static stretching belongs at the END, in the cool-down, when the goal is flexibility rather than readiness.