Warming Up for Bowling

Introduction:

      Before performing any exercise, it is important to warm up your muscles. Bowling is no different to any other sport in this respect. While bowling may seem to be a relatively low level exercise, due to the repetitive nature of the sport, and the necessity to carry and deliver a weighted ball, it is possible for the muscles and joints to be strained.
During bowling, repeated strain is put on various areas of the body - the arms, wrists and knees in particular. Also, many muscle groups are involved in the bowling action, including the forearms, shoulder, back, torso, hips and legs. The exercises performed should include the body parts that are being used, and should take you at least through the range of motion that will be involved in the exercise. The exercises should start you off with slow controlled movements, progress to more ballistic movements, and culminate with the full bowling action.
When to warm up
The warm up should be done before each bowling session - both for competition and practice. If you have extended rest periods where you are not performing, you may have to go through some of these procedures to keep your muscles and joints ready to safely and consistently perform.
Preparation
Initially you should begin by doing some light activity to increase blood flow to the muscles. A short run around the block, or running on the spot, or anything similar that increases your heart rate would be suitable. The next phase of the warm up is to stretch the muscles and joints. This will be achieved initially by passive stretches followed by active stretches.
Passive Stretches
Hold each of the following stretches for 10-20 seconds.

Neck Stretch -     Tuck your chin down until it touches your chest and you can feel tension at the back of your neck. Tip your head to each side slowly until you feel the stretch.

Shoulder Stretch 1-     Point your elbow upwards, with you hand behind your head. With you other hand grab, your elbow and gently pull towards the other side until a good stretch is felt. Repeat for both sides

Shoulder Stretch 2-      Hold you arm horizontally across the front of your body. With you other hand, grab your elbow and gently pull towards your chest. Repeat for both sides

Side Stretch -       Begin in a similar position to the shoulder stretch 1 above, with feet slightly apart. Keep your hips stable; bend your torso so that the stretch is felt along your side. Repeat both sides.

Hip Flexors / Hamstring Stretch -       With you body and feet all facing forward, place one leg back and your other leg forward, hands on the front thigh. Shift your weight forward remaining as upright as possible and keeping both feet flat on the floor. Repeat on opposite side.

Quadriceps Stretch -        Support yourself with one hand while standing on one leg. Bend your free leg back and hold on to your ankle with your free hand. To increase the stretch, pull the foot higher behind the body.

Forearm Extenders -       Hold out your arm with the palm facing down. Drop the fingers and palm at the wrist. Grab your fingers with the other hand and pull them towards the body. Change hands and repeat.

Forearm Flexors -         Hold out your arm with the palm facing up. Drop the fingers and palm at the wrist. Grab your fingers with the other hand and pull them down and towards the body. Change hands and repeat.

This stretching regiment is reprinted from a bowling web site

Happy Strething,

Lou Marquez 

Head Coach for Turbo Tech

www.turbogrips.com  lmarquez@turbogrips.com