Warmups and Recovery
Warmups and Recovery
To prepare your athletes for a day of on-snow training and help them to recover for the next day!
ALL ATHLETES should do some form of warmup before riding. This will help them to get the most out of their day and minimise injuries. The level of warmup is relative to your athlete’s age however. Below are a series of exercises you can use when warming up with your athletes.
Begin with a dynamic warmup, for all your athletes. The length of this will depend on the athletes age, but should be between 15-30mins. This can include:
- Running straight ahead, jogging back again
- Lateral shuffles
- Butt kicks and quick high knees
- Grapevines
- Sumo mobility squats and wide squats pivoting to face other direction
- Walking lunges and backwards lunges with a twist
- Walking hip openers
- Acceleration/deceleration – running forward 5 steps fast, backwards 2 steps, forward 5 steps, back 2, etc
- Planks and side planks for core activation
- Partner stuck in the mud for balance activation
- Neck strength resistance – all directions
For athletes over 12 (11 for girls), the following exercises can be used to warmup the neuromuscular connections:
- Double leg squats – Chest up, feet hip width apart, don’t let knees buckle in, knees not forwards of toes.
- Single leg squats – Chest up, eyes up, squatting knee aligned over foot, hips level, other leg behind, coach/partner to cue.
- Landing drop squats – Hands on hips, drop squat to 90 degrees knee bend, make a stomp, without knees buckling in.
- Vertical jumps – land softly on 2 feet in stable body position without knees buckling in, keeping chest up.
- Lateral jump – jumping sideways 1m off right leg, land on left leg, stick and hold landing.
Good recovery will help your athletes ride again the next day, but recovery is very relevant to how their day actually felt to them.
Recognising when they are tired is important, as well as giving them appropriate recovery tactics.
The phrases to the right (below if you’re on mobile) are common feelings your athletes might have after a big training day, along with some tactics to help them recover.
My legs feel tired, sore or achy….
- Have snacks on the way home. Ensure they eat properly that evening and have three full meals the next day. Bring snacks to training the next session.
- Encourage a 20-30min naps after riding. Sleep helps with skill development, reaction time, recovery from injury, and mood management.
- Stretching or pool session for 10-20 mins to keep the muscles moving but without any load.
I had a stressful day at training and got frustrated...
- Ensure they eat good, healthy food that evening.
- Encourage a 20-30min naps after riding. Sleep helps with skill development, reaction time, recovery from injury, and mood management.
- Encourage them to spend some time simply breathing, doing yoga, and stretching.
My shins hurt after training today…
- Ensure they eat good, healthy food that evening.
- Get an ice block from the freezer and rub directly onto the shin for 8mins each leg.
- Feet and lower legs into a tub with water ice cubes in it up to your knees for 8-10 mins.
I have a headache…
- Drink fluids including water and/or electrolytes.
- Stretching session for 10-15mins, focusing especially on neck and shoulders.
- Encourage a 20-30min naps after riding. Sleep helps with skill development, reaction time, recovery from injury, and mood management.
The Importance of Recovery
Help your athletes to understand that they can’t train all the time and that recovery is just as important as the time spent on snow.