Warming up, cooling down and staying injury-free
Most sporting injuries are not bad luck. They come from cold muscles, poor technique, worn kit or ignoring pain that had been building for weeks.
Part of your national curriculum
- Health and fitness: Understand warming up, cooling down and safe practice when taking part in physical activity
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Understand warming up, cooling down and safe practice when taking part in physical activity
Key learning points
- • What a warm-up actually does
- • Cooling down is not optional padding
- • Preventing injury before it happens
- • Acute injuries and first response
This lesson at a glance
- 20 minutes
- 15 parts to scroll through
- 4 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 15
Watch first
Warming up, cooling down and staying injury-free
An English teaching video on this topic from TED-Ed. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.
In a nutshell
Understand warming up, cooling down and safe practice when taking part in physical activity
Learning cycle
Part 2 of 15
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Part 1 · What a warm-up actually does
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 3 of 15
Learn
What a warm-up actually does
A warm-up raises muscle temperature, which makes muscles more elastic and speeds nerve impulses; it increases heart rate and blood flow so oxygen arrives before it is urgently needed; and it rehearses the movement patterns of the activity. Structure it in three parts: pulse raiser (light jogging), mobility and dynamic stretching (leg swings, lunges with rotation), then sport-specific drills at rising intensity.
Explore the idea
Part 4 of 15
Learn
Cooling down is not optional padding
Stopping suddenly lets blood pool in the legs, which can cause dizziness. Five to ten minutes of easy movement keeps blood circulating, clears metabolic waste and returns heart rate towards resting values gradually. Static stretches held for around 30 seconds afterwards help maintain flexibility, when muscles are warm.
Quick check
Part 5 of 15
Quick check
Which is the correct order for a warm-up?
Quick check
Part 6 of 15
Quick check
A cool-down mainly helps by:
Reset break
Part 7 of 15
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 2 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Learning cycle
Part 8 of 15
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Part 2 · Preventing injury before it happens
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 9 of 15
Learn
Preventing injury before it happens
Check the playing surface for hazards, wear correct footwear and protective equipment (shin pads, gum shield, helmet), follow the rules — most of which exist for safety — and use correct technique, especially in lifting, tackling and landing. Respect competition rules on matching by age, size and skill, and never train through sharp pain. Progressive overload done too fast is one of the commonest causes of overuse injury.
Explore the idea
Part 10 of 15
Learn
Acute injuries and first response
Acute injuries happen suddenly: sprains (ligament), strains (muscle or tendon), fractures, dislocations, concussion. Chronic injuries build slowly: shin splints, tendinitis, stress fractures. For a soft-tissue injury the standard immediate response is PRICE — Protect, Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate. Any suspected concussion, fracture or dislocation stops the session immediately and needs medical assessment; the rule for a head injury is 'if in doubt, sit them out'.
Quick check
Part 11 of 15
Quick check
A stretched ligament in the ankle is a:
Quick check
Part 12 of 15
Quick check
What does the C in PRICE stand for?
Challenge round
Part 13 of 15
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Mastery quiz
Part 14 of 15
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Warming up, cooling down and staying injury-free
4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. Which is the correct order for a warm-up?
2. A cool-down mainly helps by:
3. A stretched ligament in the ankle is a:
4. What does the C in PRICE stand for?
Lesson round-up
Part 15 of 15
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
Quiz score
Not sat
Games
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Points this lesson
0
Best run
0 in a row
Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?
Ask LunaDo the work
Your written work for this lesson
This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.
What a warm-up is actually for
A warm-up raises the heart rate, sends more blood to the working muscles and raises muscle temperature by a couple of degrees. Warm muscle stretches further before it tears, and messages between brain and muscle travel faster, so movement is more accurate.
A good warm-up has three parts: a few minutes of easy movement, mobility that takes joints through the range the sport needs, and short bursts at close to game speed.
Long, still stretching before explosive sport can slow the muscle down. Save that kind of stretching for the cool-down.
Written for Good Learning Co.
Reading questions
- Explain in your own words two things a warm-up does to the body.
- Design a ten-minute warm-up for one sport, with times for each part.
- Keep a training log for three sessions: what you did, how long, and how you felt after.
Training log
WritingWrite what you did, for how long, and how your body felt afterwards.
Half a page
Saved as you type.
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Understand warming up, cooling down and safe practice when taking part in physical activity