Coaching and Care of Athletes

CHAPTER XIII WARMING UP AND COOLING DOWN MoRE athletes than not, I fancy, fail in competitions because of that laziness, or maybe shyness, which prevents them from thoroughly limbering up before their events take place. In· rela– tion to training lack of proper limbering up can be due only to laziness, because all the athletes on the training-ground are in the same situation, and there should be no reason for anyone to be shy about doing his preparation properly. The coach who has the welfare of his team at heart cannot too strongly emphasize the necessity for a proper limbering-up pro– cess, both before training and before competition, and a proper cooling-down process afterwards. Let us go into this matter of limbering up rather fully, because it is of major importance to the athlete. For this reason I propose describing in some detail what the limbering-up process should be, and also the reasons why limbering up is necessary. The analogy which comes most readily to one's mind, and must, indeed, hav~ been used by hundreds of coaches in explaining this matter to their pupils, because it is the most simple analogy to understand, is that of starting 'up a motor-car on a cold morning. Even in summer; when a car will start easily on the self-starter, it is always wise to run the engine while the car is stationary for a little time before driving out of the garage. In winter the wise motorist gives his car two or three swings with the starting handle before making use of the self-starter. Why is this procedure followed? It is really very easy to understand. When the engine is not running the oil becomes viscid, and the colder the weather is the m?re viscid the oil becomes. The object of the motorist in running his engine while the car is standing still is to lower the viscosity of the engine oil by putting it into circu– lation and thereby getting it warm and more liquid. Exactly the same theory may be applied to the athlete's muscles·. Neither a motor-car engine · nor an athlete will produce an immediate satisfactory performance from a cold start. Apart from the question of lowering the viscosity of the muscles, I 53