January 1, 2021
How To Activate Before a Game and Why It’s Important
“Activation exercises are more than just a quick stretch. They are used by athletes, coaches and physios in prehab and rehab for a reason”
Everybody understands the importance of a warm up and we all have our own way of doing it. It usually consists of some sort of running, a few stretches and some ball work if you’re lucky. The sad fact is, that local league game schedules often mean that you are left with little time or court space to warm up before the blow of that first whistle. The outcome? You niggle something in the game which hinders your performance, or your first quarter is less than mediocre as you haven’t had the time to prepare yourself mentally and physically for the game.
Activation is a great way to prepare your muscles for exercise and, quite frankly, it is something that we should all be doing on a regular basis before movement – whether that be a game, 5km run or even just a session at the gym.
Activation exercises are more than just a quick stretch. They are used by athletes, coaches and physios in prehab and rehab for a reason. Unlike static stretches, activation exercises are designed to prepare your nervous system for the exercise you are about to complete. They activate the muscles you are about to be using whilst also increasing the range of motion you have.
Are you ready for the science-y bit?
During activation exercises, your muscles are activated by electrical signals sent to the brain. These signals trigger motor units which then cause a contraction of the muscle fibres they control. Each motor unit is ‘all or nothing’ – in other words they are either switched on and firing or not. Therefore activation exercises can help to activate groups of motor units to switch on muscle fibres to help prepare them for use during exercise.
When doing activation exercises, it is important to target the key muscles you are going to be using during your exercise. For example, if you are about to take on the squat rack in the gym, activating the glutes is going to be very important to making sure that you can squat correctly. When it comes to netball, you want to make sure you are activating your glutes, quads, core and shoulders in order to fully prepare yourself for a game or training.
Now these exercises aren’t going to have you dripping in sweat but it is important that they are completed. Ideally they would be done before a pulse raising exercise such as jogging the length of a court to make sure that your muscles are fully prepared. So next time you’re hanging around the side-lines chatting to your team mates, make use of the time by completing the exercises below and thank yourself later for the improvements you will see in your movement and your game.
Activation Exercises for Netball
Using a activation band can help to improve activation by adding resistance to each exercise encouraging the muscles to switch on faster.
Complete 2 rounds of 10-15 reps of each exercise, always take your time and focus on switching on the muscles.
- Step backs
- Squats
- Fire hydrants
- Kneeling Kick Back
- Plank
- Dead bugs
- Chest Fly
- Single Arm Pull throughs
Check out our IG reel to see some examples of these exercises.
TOP TIP: Feeling the muscle you are activating whilst completing each exercise can help you to know if you are firing them up correctly or not. If you can’t feel a contraction in the muscles (it will feel hard) adjust your body position and go slower. Remember slow and steady always wins when it comes to activation.
The more you do these exercises, the quicker the muscles are activated and the more transferable activation come to other tasks, making you more mechanically efficient and less at risk of injury. Win!
