15/9/17 - My Group's Warm Up and Other Groups Evalutation

Our warm up

Our warm up consisted of:

• Jogging on the spot for 8 counts
• Sprinting on the spot for 8 counts 
• Repeat the jogging and sprinting
• Jumping jacks, 8 to each side, then 4, then 2, then 1 x 2
• 10 burpees
• Side stretch, into flat-back, into holding the leg, into the center, roll up and repeat on the other side
• Arm stretches - pull over to the side, pull back behind the head, repeat on the other side
• Shoulder rolls back (4), then the same with elbows and with full arms, then repeat this sequence and then repeat twice rolling forward also
• Straddle stretch - reaching over to the side, then laying on the leg, then reaching up with elbow on the floor, then coming back to center and repeating on the other side
• Reaching forward in straddle stretch, 3 swings then reaching back and lowering down further into straddle every time
• Pike position - rolling down and reaching out and coming up through flat-back, do this 4 times and then reverse it, and repeat 4 times, then hold pike position
• Into butterfly stretch, rolling through 8 times and then hold the stretch down, pushing the legs down whilst there
• 8 normal crunches, 8 with a flex, 8 with a point, 8 in tabletop, 8 with straight legs, 8 in diamond, 8 with legs extended out in front, then repeat this whole sequence
• Stretch out in cobra stretch
• Roll over and plank for 4 counts of 8, then side plank on each side for 4 counts of 8
• 10 slow press ups going down for 4 counts and up for 4 counts
• Into downward dog stretch, walk feet in and roll up
• Rib isolations, do 16 alternating sides, and then repeat this

During this lesson we also experienced other groups warm ups, and I felt that the other groups warm up was very thorough, as they stretched out all parts of the body and they did enough cardio such that I was definitely warm and ready to stretch. I do think they could have included some more stretching of the head and of the ankles, in order top prevent injuries such as a sprained ankle, and to minimize aches and pains, and to really target every point of the body. Their stretches were very effective as they were often active stretches, so they allowed us to really start moving and warming our muscles. I do think they could have held some of the stretches for a little longer such that we could have received a deeper stretch, but overall we were warm and ready to dance by the end and so the warm up did its job and was successful. 

The first cool down group was effective, as they started with some breathing exercises which worked to return the heart rate to a normal level, however, I do think that it could have been improved by ensuring we were not extremely static very quickly as if we did this cool down after heavy movement, in a high-cardio style, we would have become static potentially too quickly. So, it could have been improved by walking around and doing these breathing exercises first. However, the stretches really targeted the areas that are most likely to be sore, so I think they were effective in that they would minimize aches and pains the next day.

The second cool down group, I think, was really effective as they started off by doing some breathing exercises which really allowed the heart rate to come down and reach a resting rate. They then proceeded to target the areas that would most likely ache the most the next day, such as the calves and the hamstrings, which I thought was really effective, and so I think the cool down really served its purpose to minimize aches and pains the next day. I do think that they should have used music to make it more interesting and so that we could have relaxed into the stretches a little more, but overall I was stretched out after the warm up and so I thought it was very successful.

The first rehabilitation group was quite effective, as they definitely targeted the shoulder, seeing as their injury that they needed to rehabilitate from was a dislocated shoulder. They definitely stretched out the shoulder effectively, and they had a very good range of exercises that were new and original, and would have been very effective should someone have suffered this injury. I do think that occasionally the organisation could have been slightly better, as sometimes they were unsure of what exercise would come next, however the session itself was effective for its purpose. I do also think that to improve they could have held the stretches on each side for a more similar amount of time, as sometimes one side was more rushed than the other, however overall it served its purpose and was effective.

I think the second rehabilitation group was very effective. They targeted a sprained ankle, and I think their exercises were extremely effective as they had a very good range of exercises, all targeting different parts of the ankle. Also, they had a very vast knowledge of why we need to strengthen the ankle after the sprain and they told us why each exercise was important to the rehabilitation process. Additionally, the exercises were repeated enough so that you could really feel it in your ankles, and I think that the exercises they chose would really be beneficial to someone suffering from this injury. They also made good use of resources and used stretch bands to better roll out the ankles, and this exercise in particular was really good to strengthen the ankles. Also, they told us how often we should do these stretches and how many repeats would be necessary which would be extremely effective in the rehabilitation process.