UNIDAD DIDÁCTICA.
PHYSICAL EXERCISE. WARM-UP AND HEALTH
Introduction (description of the unit)
The warm up exercises are crucial to any sports or fitness training program. The importance of
a structured warm up routine should not be under estimated when it comes to preventing sports
injury.
Description of the unit
Didactic aims
Contents
 What does warm-up mean?
 Why do we need to warm up?
 Benefits of Warm-up
 Warm-up stages
o General warm-up
o Specific warm-up
 Warm-up principles
Sequence of learning activities
Didactic resources and materials
Space and time organization
Assessment.
Didactic aims
The aim of warming-up is to allow players to gradually adapt and prepare themselves both
physically and mentally for exercise.
It's aims can be summarised as:
1. To increase performance levels.
2. To decrease the risk of injury. A proper warm up has a number of very important key
elements. These elements, or parts, should all work together to minimize the likelihood of
sports injury from physical activity.
3. To know how to avoid or reduce the muscle pain or stiffness that can appear after physical
activity. The warm up exercises are crucial to any sports or fitness training program. The
importance of a structured warm up routine should not be under estimated when it comes
to preventing sports injury.
4. To plan and implement basic guidelines respecting autonomous warm-ups for processing
and responding to the characteristics of physical activity to be performed.
5. To understand and assess the benefits, risks and contradictions present systematic practice
and physical activity throughout life, personal development and the improvement of the
quality of life and health, individual and collective.
The warm-up aims to:

prepare the body and mind for the activity

increase the body's core temperature

increase heart rate

increase breathing rate

reduce muscle stifness
A warm-up helps your body prepare its muscles and mind for both mental and physically
exertions and reduces the chance of injury. The aim is to increase circulation, blood flow
around the muscles of the body, in a gradual manner. During the warm-up any injury or illness
you have can often be recognized, and further injury prevented.
Contents
What does warm-up mean?
Exercises are always performed before physical activity or sports to adapt the body
progressively to further effort. Warming up means carrying out physical exercises that will
help the body to adapt to a subsequent task involving greater exertion. We use this name
because of the sensation of warmth in the body, caused by increased blood flow to the
muscles and the corresponding rise in temperature.
The warm-up can be a combination of rhythmic exercise, such as those shown in aerobic
videos, or a slower version of the aerobic activity to come. For example, you might want to
walk before you jog, do the hovering and mopping of the floor, prior to doing a light home
circuit.
What is important is that you warm up and do some static stretching. The body will take time
to warm up properly; i.e. shut done areas such as the digestive system, in order to supply the
muscles with more blood.
Why do we need to warm up?
During exercise, the muscles in our body contract and stretch. Warming up helps them to
adapt and prevents injury either from the muscle contracting too tightly, or else from
stretching out too suddenly. Furthermore, the joints get ready to perform larger movements,
thus reducing the possibility of strain.
Warming up increases our heart rate. As the heart pumps more blood, it prepares the body for
greater exertion. The blood vessels dilate as they are about to receive a greater amount of
blood than when the person is at rest. The respiratory system also gets ready to increase the
volume of oxygen inhaled.
Thanks to warming up, the chemical mechanisms that take place inside the muscle cells
transporting oxygen, releasing energy from the nutrients, etc. are activated with greater speed
and efficiency, delaying the onset of fatigue. By warming up, we avoid or reduce the muscle
pain or stiffness that can appear after physical activity.
Finally, warming up prepares us mentally and reduces the state of nervousness or fear that
often comes with the uncertainty posed by a competition.
BENEFITS OF WARMING UP
Avoids
muscle injuries
Increases joint
Facilitates cardio-res-
movement
piratory adaptation
Delays
Helps reduce
fatigue
Stiffness(Inflexibility)
Facilitates mental
preparation
WARM-UP STAGES
1. General warm-up
The general warm up should consist of a light physical activity, like walking, jogging, easy
swimming, stationary bike, skipping or easy aerobics. Both the intensity and duration of the
general warm up (or how hard and how long), should be governed by the fitness level of the
participating athlete.
The aim of the general warm up is simply to elevate the heart rate and respiratory rate. This in
turn increases the blood flow and helps with the transportation of oxygen and nutrients to the
working muscles. This also helps to increase the muscle temperature, allowing for a more
effective static stretch. Which bring us to part two.Warming up can be broken down into a
general stage and specific one. The purpose of the first stage is to get all the parts of the body
moving for the following activity, and to loosen up and go faster without feeling too tired.
It usually begins with running at low or moderate speed, and doing stretching and other
exercises that have a low to moderate effect on various groups of muscles, and alternating
between them to prevent the muscles from tiring too soon.
In general warm-ups, there is a mix of dynamic and static exercises. If several static exercises
are performed, it is advisable to do a soothing activity in the middle, such as walking, jogging,
etc.
2. Specific warm-up
During the specific warm-up stage, the aim is to achieve a more specific type of preparation
and therefore it includes exercises that are similar to the subsequent activity. In this part, the
athlete is specifically preparing their body for the demands of their particular sport. During this
part of the warm up, more vigorous activity should be employed. Activities should reflect the
type of movements and actions which will be required during the sporting event.A specific
exercise is one that is very similar to the movements required in the sport that will be played
later on.
Specific exercises should begin at a low speed and with moderate intensity. Furthermore, the
more strenuous the subsequent activity is, as, for instance, in a competition, the greater the
emphasis that needs to be placed on this stage. Specific warm-up exercises sometimes involve
actually playing the sport that is to follow, but with less intensity.
WARM-UP PRINCIPLES
Warm-up principles enable us to decide whether a warm-up stage has been completed
properly. Go and watch a competition and make a note of what warm-up exercises the athletes
do. Then check whether the warm-up principles have been complied with.
TOTALITY. The exercises should involve every part of the body, even if they do not
intervene specifically in the subsequent activity.
SPECIFICITY. The warm-up exercises should be chosen in keeping with the characteristics
of the subsequent activity.
PROGRESSION. The intensity and difficulty of the exercises and the movements required
of the joints need to be increased gradually.
DURATION. Warm-up should be of the proper duration, since the body needs a minimum
amount of time to complete the processes involved in adapting to the subsequent exertion.
VARIETY. A warm-up exercise will not have the desired effect if it becomes a routine or
monotonous activity. In groups, look for simple games that can be used as a warm-up and put
them the PE class
Sequence of learning activities
How to Structure Your Warm Up?
Obviously, it's important to start with the easiest and most gentle activity first, building upon
each part with more energetic activities, until the body is at a physical and mental peak. This is
the state in which the body is most prepared for the physical activity to come, and where the
likelihood of sports injury has been minimized as much as possible. So, how should you
structure your warm up to achieve these goals?
There are four key elements, or parts, which should be included to ensure an effective and
complete warm up. They are:
1.
The general warm up;
2.
Static stretching;
3.
The sports specific warm up; and
4.
Dynamic stretching.
All four parts are equally important and any one part should not be neglected or thought of as
not necessary. All four elements work together to bring the body and mind to a physical peak,
ensuring the athlete is prepared for the activity to come. This process will help ensure the
athlete has a minimal risk of sports injury.
Extra un-restrictive clothing (tracksuits - hats) can be worn, to help increase the body
temperature, which in turn will speed up the warming up process of your muscles.
JOG ALONG RAISING YOUR ARMS
MOVE YOUR ARMS IN CIRCLES
ROTATE YOUR BODY FROM SIDE
TO SIDE
RUN SIDE STEP
ADVANCE 3 OR 4 SKIPS ON EACH
FOOT
RUN SIDE STEP CROSSING YOUR
FEET OVER
JOG BACKWARDS
STEPPING COUNTERSTEPPING
WHOLE
RUNNING
GATHER
MOMENTUM
AND
MARK THE
SPOT
TTO LEARN, YOU NEED TO PRACTISE.
WARM-UP SAMPLE
COUNTERSTEPPING
Didactic resources and materials
SAMPLES: Intro’s, ice breakers and learning games
Mission Impossible
Having set up your gymnasium with all the apparatus for the lesson, ask students to
complete an agents mission.
"Your mission agents is to move from apparatus to apparatus without touching the floor".
Be sure to join the apparatus circuit with mats and hoops to act as stepping stones. Play the
"mission impossible" theme music.
I like to divide the class in half (girls/boys) and the children are asked to start on a piece of
apparatus, preferably away from others. You can vary the difficulty by adding rolling
movements when travelling on a mat.
The kids love it!!!
Sheep Tig
Choose some pupils to be chasers. These are the people who tig others.
Then choose some other pupils to be farmers. When someone has been tigged, they lie on
their back with their legs and arms in the air.
They then have to wait until a farmer comes and rolls them over. To make this more fun the
children can also make a 'baa' noise when being rolled over.
Traffic Lights
This is a simple warm-up activity, where the leader / teacher shouts commands and the
group have to complete the relevant action:

Red - Stop

Yellow - Run on the spot

Green - Run around the area

Roundabout - turn round once

Motorway - sprint (leave until a bit later in the warm-up)

Speedbump - jump and carry on.

Carpool - travel in groups of 2 or more

Foggy weather - two learners pair up one behind the other. The one in front leads
the one at the back who has his / her eyes closed

Low bridge - everyone walks around hunched over / low to the ground Traffic
Jam - walk or slowly jog

Right or Left - pupils change direction

School Zone - slow walking, stop and slow walking again

Change Lanes - change direction

Reverse Parking - walk backwards

Roadworks - run in single file

Breakdown - lie down until rescued

Rain - use arms to mimic windscreen wipers

Zebra crossing - gallop like a zebra

Pelican crossing - walk and move arms up an down in front of your body (opening
and closing like a beak) or move by sides like wings

Lollipop lady - children all put hands out in front of them and shout "stop"

Traffic warden - children look at a pretend 'watch' and waggle finger saying "tut
tut tut"

Police Car - Sit on floor and spin round shouting "nee naw nee naw"

Fire Engine - Run around pretending to have a hose in their hands.

Some children could also form bridges, which others have to go under
It is suggested using different speeds when moving around:

1st gear: Walking speed

2nd gear: Jogging

3rd gear: Running

4th gear: Sprinting
Run Through the Jungle
I've used this with as many as 180 kids at once.
Children are running through the 'jungle' and run into many animals, etc that they need to
get away from. The teacher can give appropriate commands, and the children carry out a
suitable action:

jump over logs

duck under branches

high knees through quicksand

run from the tiger

tip toe past the snake

talk to the monkeys (ooh, ooh, aah, aah), etc.

Swing through the jungle like Tarzan - children reach up for the jungle vines and
calling 'arrhhh, arh, arh' beating their chests etc.
This really gets kids' hearts pumping and they have a blast!
Ladders
First, pair up the children and sit them down, with legs flat (on the carpet) and spread out.
Now give the pairs numbers 1,2,3 and so on.
You call a number and that pair will jump up and run round the whole of their team and sit
down. The first one to sit back in place is the winner. Or as a team, the first pair run round
and as soon as they are in place the next person gets up and runs, until the whole team has
run round the whole team.
The first team to all sit down is the winning team.
Tickly Cat
This game is used in our recreational gymnastics group within our gymnastics club. It is part
of the warm up to raise heart rate and body temperature for the gymnastics session ahead. It
is also high on the fun factor, the children love it. It is nothing more than a version of "Stickin-the mud". We call it "Tickly cat".
The person whom is "on" is the cat and she chases the other gymnasts (the mice!), and tags
the mice. The mice then "fall asleep" lying on the floor in a star shape and they don't "wake
up" until one of their friends tickles their tummy.
The game continues until everybody has had a go at being the cat or the time limit for the
warm up is finished.
All our gymnasts really enjoy this game and there are usually a lot of smiles all around!
Up, Down, Stop, Go!
Children have to listen very carefully!

On GO - children must stop still.

On STOP - children must move around the space either walking or running.

On UP - children must sit or lay down.

On DOWN - children must stretch up to the ceiling.
Teacher can catch children 'out' if so desired.
The Teacher Says...
This game is adapted from the 'Simon says' game and encourages: balancing, stretching,
cardio vascular exercise, and listening skills. It's better to keep the game fast-paced to
engage children and to playfully 'catch them out'.
The teacher calls out a command e.g. "Miss Smith says do 5 star jumps" (to encourage
cardio vascular exercise). The teacher can model the move correctly but sometimes perform
the 'wrong' move, e.g. tuck jumps. or "Miss Smith says stretch as high as you can on one
foot" (to encourage balancing skill) but teacher curls up in a ball.
If the game is kept pacy, children will find themselves incorrectly copying the teacher's
movement instead of the verbal command!
This game can be adapted for a cool down activity as well: warm down stretches etc.
It can also be used for classroom practise if there are a few minutes to spare, and is also a
good calming down and behaviour management technique. For example: the teacher can
stand at the front of the class and begin the game by wiggling their fingers (a signal my class
have learnt which immediately grabs their attention). The teacher then says "Miss Smith
says touch your nose" while the teacher touches her ear, or, "Miss Smith says pat your head"
while the teacher pats her stomach. To get the class to be calm, a good final command is
"Miss Smith says fold your arms" and model correct command.
Whispering commands and modelling calm, slow movements encourages further relaxation
and calmness of the class.
The Atom Game
This game is called The Atom Game. Children run around the gym in all sorts of directions.
The teacher calls out "Atom___" and a number. Whichever number is called, the children
have to get into groups of that number. For example, the teacher calls "Atom 6!" and
children get into groups of 6. Those left out of a group, are out.
This activity could help increase inclusion in the classroom. Instead of looking for your
friends, the students must quickly find others to form the group or they will be out. This may
help form other friendly relationships in the class. This sounds great to me and could help
with forming teams for other activities.
This is a great activity! You could introduce rules like... children cannot go with someone
who has been in the same group as them, or there has to be at least one boy and girl in each
group?
Children who are 'out' could jog on the edge of the playing area - after every round some
children, who are jogging sensibly, could come back in which would mean they are still
active at all times!
Stuck in the Mud
Stuck in the mud is a classic game and is a great pulse raiser for any age.
Two people are 'on' (that is depending on the size of the class - this example is for a class of
15-23 students). They have to chase the people that are not 'on' and tag them.
When they have tagged another student who was not on, that person is 'stuck in the mud'.
They stand with legs and arms out and they cannot move. The only way to release them is if
another person who is not stuck goes under the student that is stuck to free them. They can
go through the person's legs, or under their arms.
This continues for about 5-10 minutes or until everybody is stuck. To increase the difficulty
level, use more catchers.
Frogs Stuck in the Mud
Kids squat down and have to jump like frogs.
Get two people to be 'it' and they should work together to get everyone stuck in the mud by
touching them. Nobody can run or get up unless they are stuck in the mud!
I play this as a warm up in kids' karate class to boost leg power too... they get tired pretty
quickly!
Cat and Mouse
Choose two of the class to be cats, everyone else is a mouse and wears a tail (coloured band)
in the back of their shorts.
The mice run around and the cats try to catch them by pulling the tails out. Make sure tails
are showing before starting and ask cats to collect tails that they pull out so that no one slips
on them.
Count the tails at the end and the cat with the most tails is the winner!
Cat and Mouse Equipment needed colored bands or bibs
This can be played anywhere but a large space is better.
Choose 3 or 4 students from the class to be the catchers or the 'cats' and send them to the end
of the hall/ playground to 'sleep'. Give each of the remaining students coloured band or bib
to tuck into the back of their shorts (to be their mouse tails). Shout 'wake up cats'. They then
chase the mice and try to catch their tails. The cats have to catch as many tails as they can
until they are all gone. When a mouse loses their tail they have to sit down.
Variations: Reduce or increase the number of mice. Allow all of the students to be cats and
mice at the same time. They all have to chase each other and catch as many tails as they can.
If they lose their tail they can still continue to catch other tails. The winner is the one with
the most tails. This means that all students are active throughout the activity.
Pasta PE
The children should begin by walking around the room in any direction. On the various
commands listed, they should carry out the appropriate action:

spaghetti - walk round the room tall and thin arms pointed together;

tagliatelli - walk round the room arms pointed side by side;

pasta twist - walk round the hall turning round and round;

pasta bow - walk round with legs and arms apart, bow shaped;

lasagne - lie flat on the floor; macaroni-make a circle with arms;

pasta shapes - make a 2D shape in small groups holding hands;

spaghetti hoops - make a 'hoop' in a small group holding hands;

canneloni - roll on the floor;

ravioli - stand back to back with a partner.
It can be used some pop songs for background music and the kids love it!
Bumper Cars
Aim - To develop space awareness and Locomotion / Travelling skills Name of the game:
Bumper cars. Any amount of players.
Expectations: travel in a variety of ways (e.g. run, walk, leap) in different directions in
response to signals (e.g. stop or go signals)Equipment needed: Hula hoops and a
gymnasium.
Game Instructions: Explain what personal space is and how you use it. Give each student a
hula hoop and have them hold it at waist level. Explain that this is there personal space car
and they should not touch any other student’s car. Give them word directions e.g.: stop &
go, stand up & sit down.
Have the students run from one end of the gym to the other. After, give them some
directions while they are running, let them run freely around the gym. You can also make it
an elimination game e.g.: the last one to stop or sit down has to sit out until there is only one.
Sharks
Have a set of hoops scattered about the floor, with children moving about 'swimming'. The
stroke can be changed with older children, e.g. front crawl / back stroke / running
backwards.
When the teacher shouts "sharks", the children must get into hoops as quickly as possible (2
children to a hoop).
Remove one hoop each time you shout "sharks", and ask the children to help when they are
out to still make them feel part of it.
When only two people are left make them touch the wall at each side of the hall on the way
round the hoop to avoid cheating!
Brilliant fun!
Chains
Choose two 'catchers', who link arms/hold hands. They chase the others (as in 'tig') and catch
them.
If you are caught, you join the chain. When four people are in the chain, the chain splits into
2 sets of 2.
This goes on until you have a WINNER!!!
Messy Rooms
You will need 20 tennis balls. Split the hall / gym in half and split the class in 2 groups.
The aim of the game is to have the least amount of balls at your side. The children will roll
all their tennis balls to the other side of the room, while the other team tries to pass them all
back. After a fixed amount of time, count up the number of tennis balls on each side.
The side with the lowest number of tennis balls is the winner!
You can play a similar game using pieces of screwed up newspaper and a centre line. On 'go'
the children throw the balls of paper across the other side and when 'stop' is signaled the
team with the least paper balls wins.
The Numbers Game
Set up a square, marked out in the four corners of the hall, and marked with numbers 1,2,3,4
respectively.
On the floor of the hall, spread out, will be 4 sets of numbers from 1-8 (so there will be four
1’s, four 2’s etc in the hall). Pupils will jog around the hall in and out of numbers.
The teacher shouts a number between 1 and 8. At this, the pupils have to pick up whatever
number they are closest to, and using the numbers in the corners have to get the number the
teacher shouted using adding or subtraction, e.g. if the teacher shouts 3 and the pupil picks
up number 5, then that pupil must run to the corner numbered 2, as 5 minus 2 equals 3.
There will be a section marked out in the middle of the hall for those that can’t be solved,
e.g. if the teacher shouts 1 and pupil picks up number 1 then they can't make 1 by adding or
subtracting numbers 1, 2, 3 or 4.
Run around the Teepees
This is a fun, partner game / warm-up activity which can be played with the whole class. It's
best played on grass if possible or a soft surface.
Children find a partner. Then make a circle. One is the Indian and sits on the ground, cross
legged. The other is the teepee and stands behind their partner with their legs open.
To play, blow a whistle or ring a bell and tell the children which way round the circle they
will be running. I usually point the way as the game starts.
The 'Indians' have to go into their teepees (through their partner's legs) and run as fast as
they can around the outside of the circle back to their teepee and enter through their partners
legs again and sit down cross legged. No one is allowed to push and overtaking must be
around the outside of slower runners. This game is particularly popular with boys!!!
When they have had 2 goes, swap over. This is a firm favourite with my class
You also call out 'teepees'; the teepees must run around the circle and back to their spot. This
creates excitement as the children don't know what you will call out! Again, swap roles after
a few turns.
Cats and Mice
Two groups of equal size line up facing the coach/teacher. If the coach shouts mice the cats
have to chance the mice to a line about 10 metres away and vice-versa for shouting cats.
This game is great for awareness and agility and you can make it more fun by pointing in
one direction and shouting another.
Wiggler, Waggle, Wander
This activity is a warm-up to teach students how to get into their own groups of the assigned
number while remaining in their own space. While the students walk around the gymnasium
they stay in their own space and repeat wiggle, waggle, wander. When the teacher calls out a
number they must freeze into a group that contains the number of students called out.
Everybody's It High Ten!
Objectives: Cardiovascular endurance, Competition, Cooperation, and spatial awareness
Presentation: everybody is it. When any student is tagged, that student has to freeze where
they were tagged and hold their arms up in the air like a "high position. When any other
student runs by and gives them a "high ten' back they are unfrozen and can again rejoin the
activity. Student's can unfreeze and then refreeze a player, if two students tag each other at
the same time they both become frozen and have to wait until they are rescued to re-enter
the game.
Toe Dancing
Objectives: Cooperation, cardiovascular endurance
Two players hold hands and face each other. when the signal is given each player tries to
touch the top of their partners toes using their feet. Each time this happens that player earns
a point.
Mirrors
What to do:
1. Tell the students what the topic they will talk about is. “Plans for the weekend”, “things
you did last weekend,“ or similar, personalized topics work best.
2. (Optional). Give them a minute or two to think about what they want to say (a bit of
silent planning time goes a long way in increasing how much they will say.).
3. Students work in pairs. They stand, facing each other. One is the speaker and the other
is the mirror. The speakers talk about the topic, using a lot of gestures as the speak. Mirrors
listens. The also imitate all the gestures, reversing them as a mirror would (i.e., if the
speaker moves her left leg, the mirror moves his right). The mirror can ask questions.
Beginners might find it difficult to mirror actions, listen and ask questions at the same time.
In that case, you might ask them just do the mirror actions and listening. They wait until
after the activity to ask two or three questions.
Variation: Crazy mirrors. Instead of mirroring the action, the mirror does an opposite
action. For example, the speaker raises her right arm, the mirror could lower is left art. The
speaker touches her head, the mirror touches his leg, etc
Musical chairs
Preparation: Get a CD or tape of some up-tempo music
What to do:
1. Start by identifying 4-5 personal topics that the students might share information about
themselves. For example, if you are working on preferences, you might ask students what
they would say about their taste in fashion, food, music, etc. They should think of 2 or 3
sentences they would say for each topic.
Note that this “mental rehearsal time” for thinking of sentences is very important. It not only
give them time to prepare, it gives them a lot of practice, mentally. More language goes on in
this step than in the game itself.
2. Students work in groups of 5-7. They arrange chairs in circles, face out. There is one less
chair than person in each group. They walk in a circle around the chairs as you play the
music. When you stop it, they scramble for the chairs. The person who doesn’t get a chair
must say at least 3 sentences about their preferences on any subject.
3. Then start the music again. Continue.
Note: the person who loses isn’t out. You don’t need to remove any more chairs. The game
just goes on.
Space and time organization
Before doing physical activity or sports, involving greater exertion, the students have to adapt
the body progressively. Although a correct general warm up for the average person should take
about five to ten minutes and result in a light sweat, with 15 to 20 minutes is quite sufficient.
For activities requiring intense exertion, this length of time can be extended. Aim for a
minimum of 5 minutes for a warm-up and the same for stretching. When working out, take into
consideration that it may take a good 30 minutes for your body to be working at its best.
During cold weather, and certainly if you're going to do an activity which requires sudden
bursts, make sure you spend more time warming up.
Assessment.
Is the act of assessing, the evaluation of a student's achievement on a course an activity or
exam. This Didactic Unit has not a global and unique assessment: It is supposed that students
must to practise any sort of exercise or sport in PE lessons. Before doing this, they always
need to warm-up mainly in order to increase performance levels and decrease the risk of
injury. So, in couples or in groups of three, students may prepare warm-ups and direct them
in PE classes: After that, they can have a self-assessment that the teacher must to take in
account for the final assessment.
The knowledge of students about this topic may be checked by a writing test. You can query
certain questions about warm-up in different ways.