Safety and Injury Prevention

Safety and Injury Prevention

The Lesson Activities will help you meet these educational goals:

·  Exercise—You will participate in physical activities that get you moving.

·  21st Century Skills—You will apply creativity and innovation.

Directions

Please save this document to your desktop. Type your answers directly in this document for all activities.

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Self-Checked Activities

Read the instructions for the following activities and type in your responses. Click the link to the Student Answer Sheet at the end of the lesson. Use the answers or sample responses to evaluate your own work.

Background

A warm-up is intended to prepare the mind and body for physical activity. You might participate in regularly scheduled activities such as sports or workout programs. If so, try to complete the warm-ups in this document before your sport or workout.

If you don’t have an activity planned, you must still complete the warm-ups. Follow the warm-up with 30 minutes or more of walking or jogging, or choose a different physical activity that you enjoy.

1.  Soccer Warm-Up

Go to the Soccer Warm-Up section in the knowledge article. Do all the exercises in order, starting with footwork and ending with your scheduled activity. Read the directions and study the pictures of the exercises before you begin. Be sure to complete the recommended number of sets and repetitions for each exercise. Answer the questions below when you have finished your warm-up and scheduled activity.

a.  Which parts of the warm-up did you find were easiest? Why?

Sample answer:

I found the running exercises to be the easiest. The last running exercise, bounding, was fun and different. Since it was fun, it felt easy. I did the exercise on grass because grass is soft, but bounding might not be as easy on concrete or a gym floor.

b.  Which parts of the warm-up did you find most difficult? Why?

Sample answer:

The balance exercises in this activity were probably the most difficult. I had some trouble balancing on one leg for 30 seconds. I could stand about half that long before setting my other foot on the floor. I stood near a wall and touched the wall whenever I needed to. I think balance is hard for me because I have a large frame, so my center of gravity is higher than most.

c.  Which parts of the warm-up could you see yourself including in a regular exercise routine? Explain.

Sample answer:

I'm on a rec soccer team and already do some of these exercises as part of my soccer training: circling cones, squat jumps, and running backward. I hadn’t heard of bounding until now, but it looks a lot like a squat jump that works one leg at a time instead of two. For this reason, I probably would not include bounding in my routine. I like the idea of doing some arm work, though, because I’m a goalie. Doing the modified push-ups, or even regular push-ups, seems like a good idea.

d.  During the warm-up and your scheduled physical activity, what was the weather like? Did the temperature or conditions affect how much water you drank? How?

Sample answer:

I did these exercises outdoors. The weather was hot and humid, so I drank about two cups of water during the workout. I also drank a cup of water about an hour before I started. Yes, the weather most definitely affected how much I drank.

2.  Football Warm-Up

Go to the Football Warm-Up section in the knowledge article. Do all the exercises in order, starting with breaking a sweat and ending with your scheduled activity. Read the directions and study the pictures of the exercises before you begin. Be sure to complete the recommended number of sets and repetitions for each exercise. Answer the questions below when you have finished your warm-up and scheduled activity.

a.  Which parts of this warm-up did you find were easiest? Why?

Sample answer:

I found the bear hugs to be the simplest exercise in this set. It was a very basic stretch. I could easily do ten repetitions. In fact, I did more than ten. The arm swing exercise was simple too. These were both easy exercises for me because they involve flexibility rather than cardio. With flexibility exercises, I can stand in one spot and not break a sweat.

b.  Which parts of this warm-up did you find most difficult? Why?

Sample answer:

I found that it was not easy to walk on my heels. I finished all the sets, but my toes touched the ground plenty of times. When I tried keeping my toes up, I could feel my calf muscles tighten. Leaning forward eased the tension, but then I would lose my balance. I found that I can get a similar workout if I place the balls of my feet on the edge of a step. Then I raise and lower myself to stretch my calves. That way the balance portion of the workout is not a factor.

c.  Which parts of the warm-up could you see yourself including in a regular exercise routine? Explain.

Sample answer:

I enjoyed doing the stretching exercises in the warm-up routine. I would include the knee hugging and the toe touching exercises because they push the limits of my flexibility. I have done these exercises before, but I did them in a sitting position. When I do them while walking, it gets my heart involved and works on my cardio. I still need to work on my balance in both of these exercises. They’re unusual movements.

d.  Think about your experiences with the game of football. Which exercises in the warm-up are closely related to the action that happens on the field during a game? Explain.

Sample answer:

When the ball is hiked, the players on the line push against each other. It takes strong calf muscles to do all that pushing, so an exercise like walking on heels can help. Sometimes, players kick a field goal or punt the ball to the other team. An exercise like toe touches looks a lot like kicking or punting. Arm swinging to gain momentum is a big part of running. It seems that running backs could benefit from the arm swings.

3.  Basketball Warm-Up

Go to the Basketball Warm-Up section in the knowledge article. Do all the exercises in order, starting with jogging and ending with your scheduled activity. Read the directions and study the pictures of the exercises before you begin. Be sure to complete the recommended number of sets and repetitions for each exercise. Answer the questions below when you have finished your warm-up and scheduled activity.

a.  Which types of basketball injuries do you believe the warm-up could prevent? Explain.

Sample answer:

Jogging and skipping can prevent any kind of leg injury because they strengthen the whole leg. Walking on heels might prevent an injury to an ankle. I know that basketball players often roll their ankles when they land on other players’ feet after jumping. I haven’t figured out what walking backward could prevent. That might just be an exercise to build skill and agility rather than prevent any kind of injury.

b.  In what other sports might the basketball warm-up be effective? Why?

Sample answer:

The first sport that I thought of was tennis. When I saw the image of the man skipping in the knowledge article, I thought about tennis. I often see players doing stutter steps, which are a lot like skipping. Tennis players also pedal backward, like in the walking backward exercise. I don’t see tennis players walking on their heels, but they do need strong calves, so the walking on heels activity applies as well.

c.  You’ve learned about some of the benefits of a warm-up. How might rushing into a sport like basketball without a warm-up affect you negatively? Explain.

Sample answer:

The key word in warm-up is warm. When the body is not warm, oxygen is not delivered as efficiently to the brain and muscles. Those parts are not prepared for the activity that is about to happen. This can lead to pulled muscles or aches and pains. If your brain is not ready, you are less likely to perform at your peak. Your skills won’t be as sharp. For basketball, that could mean a missed shot or a blown opportunity to make a pass.

d.  How is a warm-up different from a cooldown? How are a warm-up and a cooldown similar?

Sample answer:

A warm-up prepares the body for physical activity. A cooldown prepares an active body for rest or for baseline activities. The two are similar in that both should be gradual and not rushed. Gradual means that you ramp up or ramp down without moving too quickly. For example, in a gradual cooldown, you might do a slow walk rather than just sit down on the ground.

4.  Runner’s Warm-Up

Go to the Runner’s Warm-Up section in the knowledge article. Do all the exercises in order, starting with lunges and ending with your scheduled activity. Read the directions and study the pictures of the exercises before you begin. Be sure to complete the recommended number of sets and repetitions for each exercise. Answer the questions below when you have finished your warm-up and scheduled activity.

a.  How are the exercises in the runner’s warm-up different from a targeted stretching exercise such as the hamstring stretch shown here?

Sample answer:

The warm-up involved a lot of movement as I went around the cones, but the woman in the picture is sitting on the ground and not moving. Movement means that your cardio is activated. So, I’d say that the warm-up offers cardio along with stretching, while the woman in the picture is getting the benefit of stretching only.

b.  In what other sports might the runner’s warm-up be effective? Why?

Sample answer:

The runner’s warm-up could be used in any sport that involves short bursts of speed or long-distance running. The sports that I can think of are track and field, cross-country, soccer, rugby, lacrosse, and basketball. The motions that you go through in the warm-up are the same motions that you see on the field or on the court.

c.  What scheduled activity did you take part in after this warm-up? Was the warm-up effective in preparing you for that activity? Why or why not?

Sample answer:

My scheduled activity was one hour of softball practice. I play catcher, so my thighs and knees take a lot of abuse from kneeling and standing. The lunges were excellent at preparing my thighs for softball. The high knees exercise and arm pumping didn’t feed into softball too well. I suppose that they might help me with base running.

d.  How did you stay hydrated during your warm-up and scheduled activity? How often did you hydrate? If you had a choice between a sports beverage and water, which would you choose? Why?

Sample answer:

I drank the amount of water suggested in the lesson— two cups of water three hours before the workout, and one cup of water every 15 to 20 minutes during the workout. If I had a choice between a sports drink and water, I would pick the water. I’ve tried sports drinks in the past, but they dry out my mouth and most are too sweet for my taste. I have friends who mix half water and half sports drinks, but I haven’t tried that yet. I’ll stick to water for now.

5.  Creating a Warm-Up Routine

Use the table below to create your own warm-up routine. Design the warm-up so it supports a particular activity or sport. Fill in the name of the exercise and the sport or physical activity that your warm-up supports. You can choose warm-up exercises from the knowledge article, or you can choose entirely new ones. Once you record your warm-up routine, you must complete the exercises in the routine. If you wish, find a friend or a family member to join you for this workout and share what you have learned.

Sample answer:

Jogging

/ Softball Catcher
Four sets
Image (optional) / Directions (optional)

Balancing on a Leg

/ Softball Catcher
Three sets each leg
Image (optional) / Directions (optional)

Squats

/ Softball Catcher
Three sets
Image (optional) / Directions (optional)

Squat Jumps

/ Softball Catcher
Three sets
Image (optional) / Directions (optional)

Walking on Heels

/ Softball Catcher
Four sets
Image (optional) / Directions (optional)

Knee Hugs

/ Softball Catcher
Three sets
Image (optional) / Directions (optional)

Bear Hugs

/ Softball Catcher
10 repetitions
Image (optional) / Directions (optional)

Large Arm Circles

/ Softball Catcher
20 repetitions
Image (optional) / Directions (optional)

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