Every sport you play, from baseball to tennis to football and more, requires you to be on your feet, moving around quickly. Before playing, you should focus on properly warming up your legs in order to be fast on your toes without injuring a muscle such as your hamstring or groin, which could cause you to miss significant playing time.
Step 1
Run for a short period of time to help elevate your heart rate. If you aim to run for five to 10 minutes at a gentle pace, it will help begin to warm your legs as well as your cardiovascular system. You can add in sideways and backward skipping and running as well to help get warmed up fully.
Step 2
Walk on your tiptoes for 15 yards. This will help stretch out your lower legs, especially focusing on the flexibility of your calves and Achilles' tendons. Start slow, and then progress to a faster speed as you go.
Step 3
Perform "high-knees" and "butt-kicker" runs for 15 yards at a time. High-knee running involves bringing your thighs to parallel on each step, while in a butt-kicker you bring your heel to your rear end with each step. Both are dynamic exercises that help stretch out your legs as well as increase the blood flow to your legs.
Step 4
Stretch out your thighs and quadriceps by doing a couple sets of lunges. Step forward with one leg, and bring your other knee slowly to the ground. Keep your chest straight and try to keep your knee behind your toes, as letting your knee extend past your toes can wrench your knee and cause injury.
Step 5
Break a sweat during your warm-up. If you are slightly sweating when the game begins, you know that you got a good warm-up in.
Step 6
Stretch your leg muscles during and after your warm-up exercises. Many of the dynamic exercises also help to stretch out your muscles, but you can target a specific muscle group for extra stretching during your warm-up as well.
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