As everyone knows by now, warming up is important in order to mitigate the risk of injury and optimise performance.
It can be tricky to make up a warm up for football on the spot however, and many players end up taking shots at the keeper for their warm up. In this post, we’ll look at some possible warm up routines.
- Individual Football Warm up drills
| Exercise | Time/Reps | Sets |
| Light, steady state jog | 5 mins | 1 |
| Hip circles | 10 each direction | 2 |
| Toe flexion and points | 10 each foot | 1 |
| Ankle circles | 5 each foot | 1 |
| “Over the gate” hip warm up | 10 each leg | 1 |
| Backwards over the gate | 10 each leg | 1 |
| 50% max “sprints” | 10 secs. Rest 20 secs | 5 |
| Light Leg swings forward/back | 10 each leg | 1 |
| Light Leg swings side to side | 10 each leg | 1 |
| Walking Lunges | 20 | 1 |
| 10m diagnol runs (set out a square) | 6 runs | 4 |
| High knees | 20m/20 secs | 2 |
| Butt Kicks | 20m/20 secs | 2 |
| Arm circles | 10 each arm | 1 |
Ideally, add in a few drills with the ball including:
- 10m sprints to a cone, with the ball. Turn and come back to the start. Repeat 3-5 times
- Use a cone to represent a player. Sidestep the cone as if taking on a player before either shooting at a target goal or turning back and then sidestepping the cone, in the opposite direction
- Football-Specific Team Warm Up
| Exercise | Reps/Time | Repetitions |
| Light steady state jog | 5 mins | |
| High knees | 20 secs | 2 |
| Butt kicks | 20 secs | 2 |
| Tip toe walking | 20m | 1 |
| Sumo squats | 15 | 1 |
| Over the gate hip openers | 10 per side | 1 |
| 80% sprints with ball* | 20m | 5 |
| 1 touch passing left then right foot** | 1 min | 3 |
| Multi-directional lunges | 10 | 1 |
| Reverse lunges | 5 per leg | 1 |
| Tuck jumps | 4 | 1 |
| Run on the spot (100% effort) | 10 seconds | 2 |
*sprint to cone and around cone and back x 5
**Do this in pairs or threes. Perform light leg swings or squats for 30 seconds in between sets of 1 minute.
The Temperature Paradox
Muscles can produce more force and power at a slightly higher temperature than ‘normal’ (reference 1, reference 2).
Warm muscles are also a lot less likely to get injured
However, the higher a person’s core temperature, the more likely they are to get dehydrated
Endurance can also be impeded by high core temperatures.
- Keep hydrated during your warm-up with a glucose/maltodextrin drink with electrolytes
- Keep ‘moderately warm’ after your warm-up, so your body isn’t cool again when you start the match (wear a tracksuit if you can)
- Cooling the face or palms is the quickest way to reduce core body temperature*
- Dry off any sweat immediately after a warm-up. If you sit down for a pre-match talk etc., the cold sweat will quickly make your body cold
*The soles of the feet, the face and the palms are called “the Glabrous Skin” and you can quickly reduce your core body temperature by applying a cool pack or ice pack to the palms and/or face.
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