Dynamic warm-up/flexibility.

In our discussion on flexibility last month, we stressed the importance of warming-up before engaging in stretching activities, and then touched lightly on the subject of dynamic warm-up/flexibility (DWF) procedures.

We'd now like to take a closer look at the benefits of integrating DWF within the grand scene of strength/conditioning.

DWF can be defined as a series of movement drills performed in a progressive, deliberate sequence from low to moderate intensity. The initial drills might include walking lunges or controlled, deliberate leg lifts over track hurdles, and then gradually advancing to high knee skips and lateral shuffles.

This measured build-up in intensity enables the circulatory system to shunt blood to the working muscles for a steadily paced warm-up of the soft tissues.

Let's look at some of our favorite DWF drills, beginning with several from our hurdle series. We set up a flight of 10 hurdles back to back in our workout area. They are set at a workable height for the athletes: 33 inches for the shorter athletes and 36 inches for the taller athletes will usually suffice.

We then have the athletes walk through the drills, as shown in the accompanying photos.

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1 Knee Lead: Face the hurdles and step over each with the grounded foot turned to the outside and the other leg leading with the knee--as shown in the photo.

Since we normally perform the drill over 10 hurdles, the athlete gets five reps with each leg.

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2 Foot Lead: On the return trip, turn your back to the hurdles and step back over each, maintaining the same leg position as in the knee lead (photo 1), but with the foot now leading over the hurdle.

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3 Step Under: Raise the first hurdle and every alternate hurdle there-after to a height of 42 inches. Take a wide lateral step under the hurdle, maintaining a straight back and the necessary deep knee bend to clear your head beneath it.

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4 Step Over (photo 4): We now set five hurdles high (36") and five low (33") in alternating fashion.

Technique: Step over the first hurdle using a high knee motion with each leg. Once the flight is completed, face the same direction and repeat the drill with an opposite leg lead.

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5 Scissors: Set the hurdles at 33"-36", depending upon the size of the athletes.

Technique: Face the hurdles and step over each with a high, straight, lateral scissors kick. On the return trip, you can start with your back to the hurdles and perform the scissors kicks backwards.

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6 Skip and Kick: Set all the hurdles at 39"-42", depending upon the size of the athletes.

Technique: Moving laterally, perform a skip on the far foot, then a straight leg kick over the near edge of the hurdle, followed immediately by a skip on the near foot and a straight leg kick with the far leg. The skips and kicks are performed in a rapid-fire succession.

After completing the flights, face the same direction and repeat the drill with an opposite leg lead.

From the hurdles, we now move to a wall (or a fence when on the outside fields) and perform a series of leg swings:

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7 & 8 Leg Abduction/Adduction/Extension: Place the right hand on the wall with the arm fully extended and swing the right leg out as far and high as possible away from the body (abduction). As the leg returns to the midline of the body, turn to the left and extend the leg as far and high as possible in that direction (adduction to extension).

Perform 10-15 reps, then place the left hand on the wall and repeat the sequence with the left leg.

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9 & 10 Hip Flexion and Extension: With both hands on the wall and the arms extended, lift the right knee to the chest as high as possible (hip flexion), and hold it in that position momentarily. Then kick the leg back as high as possible (hip extension) and hold it in that position momentarily before repeating the sequence. Perform 10-15 reps with each leg.

We now proceed to some higher intensity drills, usually performed the width of the football field, or length of the basketball court.

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11 High Knee Skip: Perform a skip on the down foot, coinciding with a high knee action with the opposite leg. Repeat the sequence in rapid- fire succession, alternating the feet and legs with the skips and high knee action across the field.

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12 Straight Leg Kick and Skip: The skipping action remains the same as in the high knee skip, but the opposite leg now performs a high, straight leg kick. Skips and kicks are alternated, again, in rapid-fire succession.

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13 Far Leg Over: Moving laterally, step with the near foot and punch the opposite leg high and across the midline of the body. Snap that same leg down through the hips and repeat. Focus on the high knee and crossing action, rather than speedy, sloppy reps. We use the teaching cues "punch" (for the knee lift and crossing action) and "snap" (for the return of the same leg down through the hip) to emphasize the techniques. Repeat with an opposite leg lead on the return trip.

The entire DWF process can take anywhere from 5-10 minutes, depending upon the available time and the number of drills chosen. During the off-season period, we've been known to spend 15-20 minutes on these and similar drills in our DWF package, as many of them provide multiple conditioning benefits over and above warm-up/flexibility.

Upon completion of the DWF drills for the day, we usually perform a static stretch, as described last month, and an additional cool-down stretch at the completion of the main body of the workout. Each of these stretching sessions lasts approximately 5-10 minutes.

SEND YOUR QUESTIONS TO: Ken Mannie, Michigan State U. Duffy Daugherty Bldg., East Lansing, MI 48824 or via email at [e-mail]

BY KEN MANNIE Strength/Conditioning Coach, Michigan State University