Why is it necessary to warm up properly?

When fitness experts talk about â??doing a warm upâ??, they generally mean doing some kind of general activity that gradually raises the heart rate. They will happily tell us that doing so reduces the risk of injury during the following workout â?? but donâ??t often explain exactly how. In fact, a good warm-up should involve more than just this â??general activityâ??. The second, less commonly described aspect is the â??dynamic stretchingâ?? we mentioned in last weekâ??s article. And there are many more reasons to warm up than simple injury risk reduction

WHY WARM UP?
When you start moving in any way that raises your heart rate, certain changes start to take place in your body. Your respiratory rate increases. Bloodflow throughout your body increases, which means that the levels of oxygen and nutrients that are delivered to your cells also increase. In effect, all your bodyâ??s systems are warned youâ??re going to be making demands on them, and primed to meet those demands.

Once youâ??re at this point, youâ??re ready to move onto dynamic stretching. This, youâ??ll remember, involves slowly performing the same kinds of movements youâ??ll be making in your workout, and gradually increasing the speed. As specific muscles, tendons and joints follow the movement patterns theyâ??ll be expected to complete later, they become used to the movement, and less likely to tear when the movements are made at higher speeds. This stage also works as a cue for your nervous system to â??switch onâ?? the specific neuro-muscular connections it will need for those movement patterns.

Lastly, this two-stage warm-up helps you to prepare you mentally for the coming workout. Regardless of what that workout might be, youâ??ll do it better, and enjoy it more, if youâ??re able to bring your full focus into it. By taking the time to warm up before you start exercising â??for realâ??, youâ??re giving yourself the mental space to switch your focus to where you need it to be.

HOW SHOULD I WARM UP?
The general part of the warm-up can be done in any way that gets your heart beating faster. If you have a piece of cardio equipment availableâ?? a bicycle, rowing machine, or stepper â?? feel free to use it; or simply walk and then jog. Whatever you use, start very gently, and gradually increase the intensity until you can feel your body getting warm and your heart rate starting to rise. The specific intensity will depend on your current fitness level â?? but it should have you working at a level where youâ??re energised, not exhausted.

Some people continue until they feel a light sweat, but because this can be more reflective of humidity than body temperature (and because some people sweat more easily than others), it may not be the most useful measure. Experts suggest 3-5 minutes, but if your exercise environment is particularly cold, it may need to be longer.

Once youâ??re feeling warm, itâ??s time to bring in the dynamic stretching. What you do here will depend totally on what kind of exercise youâ??re planning. For a martial art, it might involve light sparring at ¼ speed, or simply performing some of the techniques in slow motion. For a sport, it could involve mimicking the same kinds of movements youâ??ll be using on the field or court, in a slow, controlled way. There are no specific time guidelines for how long this should take â?? but allow enough time for repeating each movement, starting slowly and gradually increasing the speed until youâ??re working at the level you expect during your workout

Finally, once youâ??re warm, stay warm. Especially if the workout that follows will be particularly vigorous, donâ??t stop to do a static stretching routine. This will give your body a chance to cool down again, and undo much of the good youâ??ve done by warming it up in the first place. If you have any questions about either kind of warm up mentioned in this article, please donâ??t hesitate to e-mail me on tanja@optimumlife.co.nz. Otherwise, may every day bring you closer to your Optimum Life.

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