A warm-up is essential before physical activity. The purpose of a warm-up is to increase the body core temperature, heart rate, and blood flow, and decrease the viscosity of connective tissue, increasing muscular performance and enhancing psychological performances. Most individuals involved in sports do a warm-up just because it is what they think they are supposed to do, however, most people do not know the reasoning behind it. It prepares the athlete not only physiologically, but mentally as well.

 Flexibility is an important component for activities of daily living and for sports, particularly ones that call for increased mobility. Although it has been shown that a dynamic warm-up is more beneficial for performance, a lack of flexibility may increase the chance of injury. Therefore, static stretching is recommended after physical activity, not before.

 Power, jumping performance, and speed are imperative in today’s competitive sports world. Recent research has suggested that utilizing a dynamic warm-up routine instead of static stretching increases power, jumping performance and acceleration/speed. Some studies have found a decrease in mean running speed or no change at all following a static stretching protocol.

 A dynamic warm-up features progressive, continuous movement. Calisthenics such as squatting and lunging movements often are paired with running drills that include forward, lateral, and change-of-directions movement. An advantage of a dynamic stretching routine is that they are more functional and sport specific.

 With regards to speed, a dynamic warm-up is more effective than any other type of pre-activity warm-up. The objectives of a DWU are to increase body temperature and heart rate, pliability of joints and muscles, and responsiveness of nerves and muscles in preparation for physical activity. To achieve optimum speed the body needs to be ready to react quickly. A dynamic will prepare the body for such activities. It will also prepare the body for quick movements as well. Almost all sports utilize speed somewhere and being as prepared as possible will have positive results.

 Plyometric training involves quick, powerful movements. Plyometrics are closely related to a dynamic warm-up because the body is continuously moving through its full range of motion. The movements of this kind of training focuses on jumping, hopping and bounding movements for the lower body and swinging, quick action push-off, catching and throwing weighted objects, arm swings, and pulley throws for the upper body.

 This form of training is used because it develops both strength and power in the muscles involved in sprinting and jumping. The main goal to plyometric training is to improve an athlete’s ability to generate maximum force in the shortest time. In track and field, this is important for not only the sprinters but for jumpers, pole vaulters, and throwers as well.

 Sport load is adding weight to the body. Weight can be added to the body in many different forms, ranging from weighted vests, pants, and suits, to bats, balls, and poles. The purpose of sport loading is to improve explosive concentric movements.

 The purpose of speed endurance training is to prevent an athlete from slowing down late in the game or at the end of a sprint. Speed endurance training will also improve an athlete’s ability to make repeated bursts of speed strong every time; this is important in sports such as soccer, field hockey, and lacrosse. It could even be important for baseball and softball. Different training programs exist that are designed to activate the specific energy systems needed for sport.