As the soccer season gets heated we often see an influx in muscular injuries. Whether you’re a high school or younger athlete or an older recreational soccer player we are all susceptible to this. In fact just a few months ago I got back into playing soccer after about 18 months. In my second game back I felt my hip get strained within the first few minutes of the game. I knew right away that I probably should’ve warmed up more than I had. Anyway, I was lucky enough that the injury wasn’t too bad and I was able to rehab myself back to 100% within about 10 days.
Simple Soccer Warm-Up
So let me share with you a simple yet effective dynamic warm up routine. I prefer dynamic warm ups and in fact scientific evidence suggests that static stretches prior to exercise or exertion actually can be detrimental. This routine is fairly simple but will get your body limber and ready for action.
I usually do a few widths of the field, back and forth, while performing each movement. Here’s a list of what I do but look out for our videos if you are more of a visual learner.
- Butt Kicks: jog slowly and aim to tap your heels to your buttocks in an alternating manner.https://youtu.be/S0b80xX2NVI
- High kicks: jog at a reasonable place and kick your legs ahead of you in an alternating manner while raising them as high as you can and keeping your knees relatively straight.
- Side shuffles: keep your knees slightly bent and shuffle sideways, always maintaining a slight gap between your legs. Go to both directions.
- Hip openers and closers: Jog/move forward at a reasonable pace, raise and open your hips outwards. Alternate between legs. Repeat by moving your hips in a closing/inwards manner.
- Mini jumps: jump up on the spot a few times.
- Short Jog/sprint intervals: jog about 15-20 ft and then sprint 15-20 feet and keep alternating.
Finally, remember that we are all different and while these exercises are a good guideline for your soccer warm up, you may have to modify them based on your abilities and how you feel.
