Warm-up

Warming up or stretching before a workout, which is best?

 

Often people think that warming up and stretching are the same, let me see if I can

clarify that for you.

Stretching is basically to increase range of motion in the joints, while warming up

is primarily to increase blood flow and raise the temperature of the body. Simple, right?

To a degree, it is; however, let’s look a little closer. People normally find

that a good warm-up makes them more flexible, even without stretching.

Keep in mind, whether you are going to swim, run, lift weights, box, play

a team sport, or most any other athletic training you still need to warm up first.

On page 271 of the NSCA’s Essential of Personal Training textbook, “…muscle

elasticity is dependent on blood flow to the target muscles.”. This is one of the main

benefits of warming up. Stretching without a warm up could lead to injury

A good general warm-up does not take that long; usually it can be accomplished

by the time a person begins to sweat a little. Activities that involve your major muscle

groups will work well, for example jogging, cycling, or skipping rope. You could also do

some sit-ups, push-ups, jumping jacks etc..

Specific warm-ups are used when preparing for a particular event, and involve the

actual or similar movements that are in training. For instance, slow jogging could be used

before going on a run. You could do light repetitions of bench press or squat before

actually lifting heavy weights. These are effective because you increase the temperature

of the same muscles you’ll use for the real training, and you mentally practice the

movement at the same time.

Warming up also helps by lubricating the joints with synovial fluid, which could

be compared to a light oil. Synovial fluid increases in volume and becomes less viscous

during your warm-up, and it helps your joints move with ease. You wouldn’t operate

your vehicle without enough oil, would you? Don’t operate your body that either.

One other great benefit of warming-up is the speed of nerve impulse transmissions

increases. This will helps your coordination and makes you more efficient in your

movements.

Now that the muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints are ready for action go ahead

and start your workout. Your body is much better prepared to handle whatever you put it

through, now.

If you feel like stretching lightly after your workout, you’ll benefit more from it

then. There are numerous ways to stretch, and they offer different benefits.

Muscles and tendons will respond in different ways to stretching. This is

generallydetermined by two factors:

1) Elasticity--the ability to return to original length

2) Plasticity--the ability to retain a new length

Muscles have elasticity only, but tendons have both elasticity and plasticity.

The range of motion is enhanced through the plastic deformation.

Much more can be written on these fascinating subjects, but we can summarize this

article with this: if you don’t warm-up, don’t workout.