1. Soft and Supple for Softball
Muscles must be warm, loose and limber before you play a softball game. Otherwise, muscles may pull, stretch and tear. Torn muscles ruin the fun and leave players benched. Athletic warm-up routines are generally about 15 minutes long. (Batting practice for softball adds some time, but helps with arm and upper-body warm-up.) The object is to get loose, not wear your body out before the game starts.
2. Stretch Those Hamstrings
Softball stretches are vital to warm-up. Do leg lunges and side to side bends to stretch hamstrings and loosen them up for action. Stretch your back muscles and leg muscles, too. Stand up straight, bend over and touch your toes with your legs stiff. Feel that warm stretch from the top of your back all the way down to your feet. Take a gentle jog from foul pole to foul pole. Run one lap down and one back to warm leg muscles.
3. Armed for Action
Prevent torn muscles in your arms by grabbing a partner and throwing some softball pitches. Stand about 20 feet apart from your partner, and start throwing the softball softly. No hardball pitches here, you're just warming up. Work your way back a few feet at a time for several minutes. The further back you go, the more your arm muscles stretch out. Arm circles are another great arm exercise. Stretch your arms out from your sides while standing up straight. Hold your arm muscles tight and stiff while making circle motions in the air.
4. Position Pointers
Softball warm-up varies depending on what position you play. For infielders, take some ground balls. Have someone throw you some grounders you can run after. Outfielders, take some fly balls. Let batters zing you some high ones to stretch for. Batting practice (about 10 to 15 swings) is great for every softball position player. Batting practice adds a few more minutes to the warm-up routine, but besides warming muscles, it adds accuracy to your game.
5. Water Warm-Up
Drinking plenty of fluids keeps smooth flowing motion in softball practice warm-up routines and games. Staying hydrated is extremely important before, during and after any type of exercise. A drink of cool water goes a long way to warm and loosen muscles. Water is always a great, healthy choice, but during a softball game when the action is on and the adrenaline is flowing, sport drinks help. Sport drinks put electrolytes back in your body when you're sweating heavily. The ingredients in sport drinks may also help prevent muscle cramps, especially during hot summer days when you sweat more than usual.
Member Comments