How do you prepare your body for aerial? Do you have a fixed routine for warm-up or go straight into your practice?
Warming up can prepare you physically and mentally for the task ahead. It can also reduce your risk of traumatic and overuse injuries. An effective warm-up should elevate your heart rate, increase body temperature, and circulation to the muscles. These physiological changes can create a prime environment where our joints become more mobile, and our muscles are "switched on" for action.
Sometimes this part is neglected due to a lack of time, social influences, fatigue and lack of space and sources. The current research support warm-up can prevent injuries. However, there is no clear guidance on the intensity, duration, and what activities to include. A warm-up session that has a greater focus on increasing body temperature, rather than stretching, is more significant in injury reduction.
Here are some practical considerations when planning a warm-up:
Work on increasing your body temperature.
Do 5-10 minutes of aerobics exercises such as brisk walking, jogging and star jumps.
Carry out movements to increase your joint mobility.
Spend 30-60 seconds performing functional dynamic movements on each joint through their range of motions.
(e.g., reach up, truck rotations, low lunge, leg swings)
Preparing your mental mindset.
Visualising and planning out what you would like to work towards at rehearsal.
Currently, there is limited guidance on which warm-up routine can aid injury prevention. It is still important to invest 15 to 20 minutes of structured activities that support your mind and body. Start utilising your warm-up session with the above ideas before rehearsal and see what difference it can make!
