Importance of warm up before exercise
Importance of warm up before exercise
(1) Why need warm up
Importance of warm up before exercise
Its just simple things. If you are going to do walking or cycling, then its already a warmup exercise so there is not required to do separate warm up. If you are going to do or play running, Zumba, gym workout, swimming, football, cricket, or any sports. Then you need to prepare the joints and muscles for the heavy work to come. By doing light stretching and warm up sets, you loosen tight muscles, lubricated the joints, tendons, and ligaments, and warm up the area by bringing blood into the muscles.
(2) When to do warm up
Before starting exercise, muscles are cold and not prepared to become subjected to hundreds of pounds of stress. No matter pressed for time you are, don’t start into an exercise without properly warming up.
(3) How much time to do warm up
On average, your warmup -both cardiovascular and muscular -should take no more than 10 to 15 minutes. This is enough to prepare your body for more intense exercise without depleting your energy reserves too much. For those who consider 10 to 15 minutes too long, look at it this way. Investing this small amount of time could prevent months of potential grief and misery- not to mention muscle atrophy.
(4) Impacts of warm up
A good warmup will increase your heart rate, produce a light sweat, increase your body temperature, and loosen up the muscles. On the other hand the warm up should not drain your energy reserves to the point that you can’t complete the desired exercise.
(5) How to do warm up
10 minutes of walking, Cycling, treadmill, rower, stair master, skipping rope, jogging, running up and down a few stairs. Any of these activities will prepare your body’s major systems for the work ahead. And will get the heart and lungs pumping and will ensure the muscles will receive enough oxygen and nutrients.
Include stretching exercises to help loosen muscles.
Include lighter version of exercises you will be doing in your exercise to prepare your muscles for more intense training.
(6) Walking a fine line
There is a fine line between a warmup that adequately prepares the muscles and one that reduces your training intensity. A good warm up should increase your heart rate, produce a light sweat, increase your body temperature and loosen up the muscles. On the other hand the warmup should not drain your energy reserves to the point that you can’t complete the desired number of sets and reps with maximum weight. Here are a few guidelines.
- Modify the warmup so it increases body temperature and produces sweat, but does not deplete your energy level or cause fatigue.
- Include stretching exercises to help loosen muscles,
- Include lighter versions of the exercise you will be doing in your workout to prepare your muscles for more intense training.
- Stop the warmup after about 10 minutes.
Generally warm up can be divided into three categories or phases
Full body system warm up -Phase one
Phase one can be consider a full body warm up. Even you are only planning to do exercise only one part of your body. Your heart and lungs plays a major role. You want them operating at peak efficiency. A few minutes warm up will get the heart and lung pumping and will ensure the muscle will receive sufficient amounts of oxygen and nutrients. Other machines you can use are the treadmill, rower, stair master. If cardio machines are not your thing, try skipping rope, doing a quick jog up and down your street, or running up and down a few flight of stairs. Warm up will prepare your body’s major systems for the work ahead.
Muscle injury prevention -Phase two
The second phase of your warm up should focus on preparing the muscles for the injury prevention and efficient functioning. Probably the best form of exercise for doing this is stretching. Stretching is one of those activities that can be perform before , during and after your exercise. It also increase blood flow to the muscle and speed up the removal of waste products. Ideally you should stretch the whole body, but if you cannot, perform a few light stretches for the muscles that you will be doing exercise that day.
Perform a few light sets of a given exercise.-Phase three
The third phase focuses on performing a few light sets of a given exercise before moving to your intense exercise. Whatever weight you carry for your work out take 50% of it for your warm up set. Always do at least two good warm up sets before start your intense exercise. So far you may have been skipping warm up sets with no ill effect. However, So many researches shows that one of these days you could get a massive tear that could require surgery and many months of therapy. It has helped to some of the top pros, so it could certainly happen to you.
Conclusion
On average, your warmup both cardiovascular and muscular should take no more than 15 to 20 minutes. This is long enough to prepare your body for more intense training without depleting your energy reserves too much. For those who consider 15 to 20 minutes too long, look at it this way. Investing this small amount of time could prevent months of potential grief and misery.
(6) A good warm up will accomplish the following
- Help prevent injuries
- Help to Increase the removal of lactic acid and other waste products of exercise
- Increase the efficiency of contracting muscles.
- Improve neuromuscular coordination.
- Improve the coordination of muscles.
- Help to Increase heart rate, speeding up blood circulation.
- Increase the delivery of oxygen to the muscles.
- Help to Increase the body’s cooling mechanisms.
- Increase the muscles’ range of motion.
- Mentally prepare you for the exercise
