Sunday morning warm-ups usually involve a white-knuckle dash to the ground, a handful of painkillers, a fag, a cup of tea and a bacon sarnie (give yourself a slap if you like the sound of this).
Invariably, this kind of preparation leads to a stinking performance and a game ending injury.
To avoid letting your team-mates down, you've got to prime your body for the stresses of football (Upgrading to a jog around the pitch, followed by a few half-hearted static stretches won't cut it).
Dynamic stretches, replicating the physical demands of a game are the answer, says New York Knicks injury prevention and performance specialist, Andy Barr.
The former Premier League physio also argues that coming into the changing room after a warm up and sitting still for the pre-match team talk cancels out the preparation you've just thrashed out.
Watch this video and let Andy tell you how to prepare your body for a man of the match display.
Ps. Good luck telling the gaffer you need to bang out a few lunges while he delivers his tactical master plan….
Also see:
Premier League warm up
Phil Neville: Pre-match warm up
Reo-Coker: The complete warm up
The ultimate half-time warm up
Don Goodman: Warming up as a sub
Kick-off on the front foot
