Warm Up and Cool Down
The parts of a warm up and a cool down and the specific benefit of each: raising the pulse, stretching, practising skills before exercise, and clearing waste and preventing soreness afterwards.
Justify the choices, the way you are assessed
Free interactive practice on the decisions the assessment actually asks you to justify.
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Before and after exercise
A good session does not start with a sprint or stop dead at the end. It begins with a warm up to get the body ready and finishes with a cool down to help it recover. Each part of a warm up and a cool down does a particular job. This module works through those parts and exactly what each one does for the body.
Session vocabulary
Learn these four terms before you study the parts.
Warm up or cool down
The two bookends of a session do opposite jobs.
Give the exact benefit
A top answer never writes that everything just prevents injury. It ties each part to what it actually does for the body, and it explains how the gentle activity afterwards helps the muscles get rid of the waste that built up. When you name a part of the warm up or cool down, name the precise benefit that goes with it.
Match the warm-up part
- pulse raiser
- stretching
- skill practice
- mental preparation
- gets more oxygen to the muscles
- increases the range of motion at the joints
- rehearses the moves for the activity
- focuses the mind ready to perform
Match the term
- a warm up
- a cool down
- lactic acid
- DOMS
- prepares the body before exercise
- helps the body recover after exercise
- a waste product that builds up in muscles
- muscle soreness felt a day or two later
What does a pulse raiser do?
What is the main benefit of the pulse raiser at the start of a warm up?
- It raises the heart rate and sends more oxygen to the muscles.
- It increases the range of motion at the joints.
- It rehearses the skills for the game.
- It clears waste from the muscles.
Benefits of a cool down
Select the TWO benefits of a cool down.
- It helps clear lactic acid from the muscles.
- It reduces muscle soreness the next day.
- It raises the heart rate ready to start.
- It rehearses the skills for the game.
Order the warm up
Put the parts of a warm up in order, earliest first.
- A light jog to raise the pulse
- Stretching the muscles
- Practising the skills
- Focusing the mind
- Starting the activity
Complete the facts
Light activity that lifts the heart rate is a _____ raiser. Stretching increases the _____ of motion at the joints. A cool down keeps the blood moving to clear away _____. Muscle soreness felt a day or two later is called _____. Activity done to help the body recover after exercise is a _____ down.
Total session time
A warm up lasts 10 minutes and a cool down lasts 5 minutes. Add 10 and 5 to find the total time spent on them. What is the answer in minutes?
Spot the warm-up parts
Tap the TWO parts of a warm up.
- a pulse raiser to lift the heart rate
- stretching to loosen the joints
- clearing waste after exercise
- reducing soreness the next day
Name the benefit
Read each situation and choose the best answer.
- A player does a light jog at the start of a session. What is the main benefit?
- After a hard match a player jogs gently and stretches. What is the main benefit?
- A gymnast stretches carefully during the warm up. What is the main benefit?
Explain warm up and cool down
Explain the parts of a warm up and a cool down and the specific benefit of each.
- Describe two parts of a warm up and what each does for the body
- Explain how a cool down helps the body recover
- Give the specific benefit of each part, not just that it prevents injury