In and Out of the Control: Punching on the Run Warm-Up

A technical warm-up that targets where runners lose the easiest seconds: reaching the control, punching, and leaving in the right direction. It mixes general activation with braking, punching, and acceleration.

How to play

1. Jog around the schoolyard with ankle, hip, and shoulder mobility (2 min).
2. Eight controls in a circle, each with a crayon tied on and a chalk arrow showing the exit. Brake in three steps, punch the card, and accelerate out along the arrow (3 min).
3. In pairs: your partner points out the exit direction at the last moment, as if you were reading the next leg on the map (2 min).
4. Timed mini course with four controls: the winner is whoever loses the least time between arrival and exit, not whoever runs fastest between them (3 min).

Rules

• Only one person punches at a time; the next waits one meter back.
• Leave the control looking ahead, not down at your card.
• Crayons stay tied to the cone.
• Run the circuit in one direction only.

Variations

Adaptations

• Visual impairment: the partner calls the exit by voice using clock directions ('leave at three o'clock').
• Hearing impairment: all exit cues are visual (arrow or arm).
• Ankle injury: does the braking and punching at a brisk walk and focuses on body orientation when leaving.

Learning goals

• Cut the time lost at each control.
• Automate controlled braking and an oriented exit.
• Warm up legs and ankles for an orienteering race.

Equipment for a class of 25

• cones: 16
• crayons: 8
• control cards: 30

Teacher tip

Tie each crayon to its cone with a short string, or none will be left by the third group. The typical mistake is stopping to look at the card after punching; have them tuck it away as they take off.

More activities like this

More warm-ups for High School