Beat Saber - Warm Up and Recovery Guide
Created by: Tino
Twitter: @Tino_MP4
For any questions email me @ TinoFromTwitch@gmail.com
Or, dm me on Twitter!
ATTENTION:
This is reiterated in the “Pain and Injury Relief” section, but I felt it needed to be
addressed up here too. If you have an injury, the first thing you should do is see a
doctor, and/or physiotherapist before even playing again, or trying any of these
exercises. It is very important that you understand exactly what your injury is, so you
don’t make things worse.
Summary:
While playing Beat Saber, your body (especially your shoulders) is very vulnerable to
injury if not warmed up properly. In addition to this, exercising muscles for extended
periods of time without proper rest and recovery can lead to similar problems. Please
follow this guide to warm up and recover properly; A healthy body means healthy PP.
Warm up:
The main focus of warm ups for Beat Saber in particular are the shoulders, and general
upper body. Start with dynamic stretches and exercises, not static stretches.
PLEASE NOTE: Before you stretch you should warm up with some sort of cardiovascular
exercise. This could be a short jog, bike, treadmill, elliptical, or even just 30 jumping jacks or
jogging on the spot for 90-120 seconds!
The goal of the exercises you do before playing is to warm up your shoulders and (after
doing these exercises regularly) increase your shoulder mobility, in turn preventing
injury. This video shows 3 tests you can try to see how good, or how bad your shoulder
mobility is, and exercises you can do at home to help! In addition to these exercises, it
is very helpful to foam roll tight muscles (see “Pain and Injury Relief” section below for
information on foam rolling).
Note: please make sure you do all of these exercises with perfect form!
-
Wall Slides
15 reps, or until warm
Traffic Lights
15 reps, or until warm
Scapular Push Ups
15 reps, or until warm
Note: If you have any pain or discomfort in the outside or inside of your wrists while in the push
up position,(addressed in the “pain and injury relief” section) try doing them on your knuckles,
and with some padding if you need it.
-
Broomstick Rotations
15 reps, or until warm
After this play some easy songs that flow well and don’t include any sudden “arm
flailing” movements, such as: Bubble Tea, Dota, Everytime We Touch, etc.
Recovery:
If you want to play every day, or regularly, you need to recover properly. Stretching is
crucial, and even your diet can have a huge increase in recovery time. However,
remember that if you don’t already exercise regularly, it can take weeks for your body to
begin recovering overnight. So follow these steps, and be patient!
Note: Contrary to popular belief, you should hold every stretch you do for 60-90 seconds; 30
seconds of stretching isn’t going to do you much good.
Stretches:
I recommend watching this 5 minute video to help visualize how your shoulder muscles
work, to help you understand why your shoulders may be tight, and which muscles may
be the root of this tightness.
Shoulders:
Anterior Deltoid Stretch
- Hold for 60-90 seconds, or 2-3 times for 30 seconds
Medial Deltoid Stretch
- Hold for 60-90 seconds, or 2-3 times for 30 seconds
Posterior Deltoid Stretch
- Hold for 60-90 seconds, or 2-3 times for 30 seconds
Posterior Capsule Stretch
- Hold for 60-90 seconds, or 2-3 times for 30 seconds
Foam Rolling:
Foam rolling is one of the best methods to loosening muscles, which is crucial for
preventing injury and maintaining a healthy, mobile body. Foam rollers are cheap, and
have many uses. Watch this video to learn how to use a foam roller properly. You can
also substitute a foam roller with something like a lacrosse ball, or even 2 lacrosse balls
taped together to create what’s called a “peanut roller,” to get even deeper into those
tight muscles.
Note: While using a foam roller, try to apply as much of your body weight onto the area being
rolled as possible; It should hurt, but in a good way (like a proper stretch).
ATTENTION: Avoid rolling on the neck, or directly on the spine!
Pain and Injury Relief:
First and foremost, if you have an injury, the first thing you should do is see a doctor,
and/or physiotherapist before even playing again, or trying any of these exercises. It is
very important that you understand exactly what your injury is, so you don’t make things
worse.
Wrists:
Many people suffer from wrist pain, especially OSU players, and now, Beat Saber
players. To properly address this pain, you first need to understand it.
-
If your pain is in the extensor/flexor carpi muscles (the underside, midsection of
your forearm), try this exercise.
If your pain is on the top side of your wrist, specifically the carpal bone area, try
this exercise.
If you suffer from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, watch this whole video from this kind,
cringey lad. (he knows what he’s talking about though)
Shoulders:
The most common injury, which everyone on the face of the planet seems to have, is a
shoulder impingement. This a condition where your rotator cuff tendons are pinched or
compressed by the surrounding bones and/or tissue during shoulder movements. This
can lead to injuring those tendons if not dealt with properly.
To test if you have shoulder impingement, watch this video. The video ends at 3:00;
there’s is an editing error.
Note: There are many different shoulder injuries, an impingement is just the most common, if
these tests don’t show that you have an impingement, but you still have shoulder pain, see a
doctor and/or physiotherapist.
Knee and Ankle Pain:
Knee and ankle pain can be caused by so many things that it’s not even worth guessing
what it is. So, if you have knee or ankle pain, please go see a doctor and/or
physiotherapist. With that being said, if you simply have bad joints from sports, or
something similar, try these methods while playing:
- Squishy soled, well supported shoes
- The heel end of an insole, on top of your existing shoe insole.
- Flexible knee braces, and/or ankle braces