This month's tip deals with the importance of proper warm-up prior to exercise or athletic activity. Warm-up is often the most neglected, aspect of a fitness and conditioning program. Many people make the often costly mistake of believing warm-up activity to be an "optional" component, abbreviating it or leaving it out of their program entirely.
Why should we participate in warm-up activity anyway? Safety, injury prevention and performance enhancement top the list of reasons.
A proper warm-up prepares the body's cardiopulmonary and musculoskeletal systems for ensuing activity and exercise. By participating in light cardio activity and range of motion and stretching exercises, you'll be "priming" your body for safer and more efficient function.
The object of any warm-up is to first elevate your core body temperature. This can be done via low intensity aerobic exercise like walking, easy jogging, light cycling, or performing a series of large range of motion movement patterns that involve the major muscle groups of the body (i.e. hips, legs, shoulders, etc.). The duration of such activity will vary from individual to individual, but 5-10 minutes is usually sufficient. A light "sweat" is often a good indicator that core temperature has been raised.
The low intensity aerobic activity prepares your cardiopulmonary system for the upcoming activity by "waking it up" and prompting the heart and circulatory system to work at higher levels than it would at normal rest.
In addition, the increased body temperature creates a more favorable environment for muscles to work with less risk of injury. With warm-up, the connective tissue and muscles themselves become more pliable and less resistant to stretching or quick movement. Warm muscles can be placed in positions of stretch with greater ease than a "cold" muscle. As such, the muscle-tendon units are less susceptible to injury. For these reasons, we always advise our clients to perform flexibility exercises only after cardio activity or range-of-motion exercises.
In addition, the ability of warm muscles to contract quicker and more efficiently than cold ones, can contribute to improved physical performance.
Flexibility exercises, including range of motion patterns and static stretching, are the final component or a proper warm-up. They should be performed slowly and carefully, to the point where light tension is felt in the target muscle group. They should never be carried out to a point of pain or acute discomfort.
The entire warm-up process can be completed in 7-12 minutes depending on individual considerations. These 7-12 minutes could turn out to be the difference between a safe exercise session or a muscle strain injury, or a win or loss on the court.
For more information concerning proper warm-up techniques, please feel free to contact O.P.T.I.
TRAINING TIP OF THE MONTH ARCHIVE
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