Warming Up, Cooling Down

Experts recognise the value of an appropriate preparation (warm-up) and a specific conclusion (cool-down) for physical activity. However, teachers, exercise leaders and coaches generally have not had access to the information they need to correctly lead and teach these key ingredients of active lessons. Now, these long-neglected aspects have finally been addressed.

In Warming Up and Cooling Down, leading authorities Jo Harris and Jill Elbourn provide scientifically sound yet practical and fun ideas for use in any setting—be it school, sports clubs or youth clubs. The principles and proposals for action identified in this book are highly relevant to children from Key Stages 1 to 4 (ages 5 to 16).

The book provides theoretical information about warming up and cooling down and a comprehensive range of practical, proven examples that are relevant and safe for young people. The text also helps teachers, coaches and community providers to develop their understanding of
- safe and effective exercise practice when working with young people;
- the curriculum requirements for learning about warming up and cooling down;
- the potential of specific age groups to perform, design and evaluate their own warm-ups and cool-downs.

Readers will learn how to make informed decisions concerning safe and effective practice when working with young people. They will also come to understand participants' response to exercise.

Part I of the book provides a theoretical knowledge base, addressing National Curriculum requirements; warming up theory; cooling down theory; and safe, appropriate and effective exercise in each of its chapters. Part II contains more than 30 practical ideas for warm-ups and cool-downs linked to specific age groups and easily incorporated into coaching sessions, curriculum lessons and after-school activities. Throughout the book you'll find a full interpretation of curriculum requirements, whether you work with young people in sport, dance or exercise settings.

Although this book refers to the National Curriculum for England and Wales and the Curriculum for Northern Ireland, the learning outcomes are compatible with and support the curricula and sport education programmes of many other countries.

Jo Harris, PhD, is a senior lecturer in physical education at Loughborough University in Leicestershire, where she has played a major role in the training of physical educators since 1990. Before this, she was involved in teacher education in Cheltenham and taught physical education and health education at the secondary school level for 12 years. She was co-director of the Loughborough Summer School course titled ‘Health-Related Exercise in the National Curriculum'. She holds a master's degree in physical education from Birmingham University and a PhD in pedagogy, exercise and children's health from Loughborough University. Jo wrote Health-Related Exercise in the National Curriculum and co-authored with Jill Elbourn the highly successful Teaching Health-Related Exercise at Key Stages 1 and 2.

Jill Elbourn, MSc, is a freelance educational exercise consultant. She co-authored Teaching Health-Related Exercise at Key Stages 1 and 2 with Jo Harris and has written several other publications and resources including Action for Heart Health, Fit for TOPs (for the Youth Sport Trust TOPs programme) and Planning a Personal Exercise Programme (YMCA Fitness Industry Training's HRE resource for Key Stage 4 – ages 14 to 16). Jill taught physical education in schools for 12 years and currently designs and leads in-service training courses on health-related exercise and safe exercise practice for school teachers and coaches all over the British Isles. She was awarded a fellowship of the Physical Education Association of the United Kingdom in 1998.