A warm up improves athlete performance by increasing core temperature, muscle elasticity, nerve conduction speed, and blood flow to working muscles. A cool down aids recovery by gradually lowering heart rate and flushing lactic acid from muscles through light exercise and static stretching. Both warm ups and cool downs are important for reducing injury risk and allowing athletes to train or compete at their best.

1. Analyse the effects of completing:
A warm up on the performance of an athlete
A cool down on the recovery of an athlete
Model Answer 10/10
Generally a warm up will help to improve the performance of an athlete as it allows the performer to
work at higher intensities for a longer period of time before fatigue sets in. A basic warm up can be
separated into 3 stages
1. Some form of pulse raising exercise usually consisting of a light jog or cardiovascular exercise
and this is aimed at increasing the performer’s heart rate or stroke volume which in turn affects
cardiac output.
2. Mobility exercises will then follow this usually in the form or static or dynamic stretching and
this is aimed at increasing the range of movement at a specific joint. For example a bowler in
cricket will spend a lot of time stretching their spine, hips and shoulder joints to improve the
range of motion ready for performance.
3. The performer will complete sports specific skills and these are aimed at activating the
neuromuscular system to increase muscle movement memory. For example a bowler in cricket
will physically bowl at a target before a game, practising their run up and delivery in order to
develop rhythm before the game starts.
The benefits of a warm up with regards skeletal muscle tissue will aid the performer in reducing the risk
of injury, and this is done via an increase in the core and muscle temperature, which in turn leads to a
decrease in muscle viscosity. There will be an increase in the elasticity of muscle fibres allowing the
greater range of motion at the joints. The performer’s muscular contraction and movement will
improve in efficiency within relation to their sport. There is a greater speed of conduction of the nerve
impulses allowing information to travel to the brain much quicker, there is an increase in motor unit
recruitment in the muscle cell which will improve performance in power based activities such as
weightlifting, rugby and shot putt.
The performer’s vascular system will also improve if a warm up is carried out with their being an
increase in blood flow around the body carrying bother oxygen to the working muscles and carbon
dioxide away from the working muscles. This increase in blood flow is distributed via the vascular shunt
mechanism where the blood is re-distributed from the organs to the working muscles. Vasoconstriction
of arteries and pre-capillary sphincters decrease the blood flow to non vital organs and vasodilation of
arteries and pre-capillary sphincters increase the blood flow to the working muscles. There will also be
an increase in venous return (blood returning to the heart) and this will be accomplished through the
five mechanisms of venous return:
1. Skeletal muscle pump squeezes veins forcing blood back towards the heart
2. Pocket valves in veins ensure one way blood flow
3. The respiratory pump pulls blood up towards the heart

2. 4. Smooth muscle in veins contract
5. Gravity pulls blood down to the heart.
All of the above lead to starling’s law and an increase in stroke volume. The major benefit of all of the
above is that there will be an increase in the amount of oxygen being distributed to working muscles.
There will also be an increased dissociation of oxygen from haemoglobin to muscles causing the bohr
affect to take place along the oxygen dissociation curve. This is due to the increase blood acidity causing
a decrease in the Ph of the blood. There is an increase in the ppCO2 in the muscles creating a greater
diffusion gradient between the muscles and blood (internal respiration) and the enzyme activity around
the body is increase.
In relation to a cool down this also has a positive effect on the performer as it speeds up recovery
allowing the performer to train or compete sooner than if they had not been involved in a cool down.
The cool down is usually performed in 2 stages;
1. A light jog or similar cardiovascular exercise with diminishing intensity aimed at reducing the
performers HR to resting levels gradually.
2. Static stretching lasting 6-10 seconds per muscle group used. The helps to realign the muscle
fibres and helps them return to resting length.
A performer could also look to use ice baths as a means of reducing the effects of DOMS and this also
reduces swelling around joints.
A cool down will increase the speed of removal of lactic acid/CO2 or waste products from the blood and
muscles as it keeps the capillaries dilated flushing oxygenated blood through the muscles. The skeletal
muscle tissue benefits from a cool down as said before there is a reduction in DOMS due to the
reduction is microscopic tears in the muscle fibres.
The vascular system helps keep heart rate elevated alongside respiratory rate gradually decrease to rest
over time. The increase in enzyme activity increases the breakdown of lactic acid and venous return is
increased to help deoxygenated blood return to the heart alongside the vascular shunt mechanism
distributing oxygenated blood to the working muscles.
On the whole the effects of both a warm up and cool down are extremely positive on a performer and
should be carried out before and after activitiy.