Definition
To prepare for an athletic event (whether a game or a workout session) by exercising, stretching, or practicing for a short time beforehand.
Examples
A warm up can be a lower intensity or lower speed of the activity you are about to do (sport-specific). For example, walk before jogging or jog before running. Other general warm ups include the stationary bike, elliptical machine or light stair climbing. Exercises that use your arms and legs (such as a Nordic Track or Air Dyne bicycle) are great for a total body warm up. A good warm up before strength training is to do the exercises you are about to perform with a very light weight first.
Purpose
Warming up helps lower your risk of injuries and the aches and pains that come with exercise. The physiological reason is to assist your circulatory system in pumping the blood carrying oxygen to your muscles. The aim is to increase circulation around the body, in a gradual manner, without putting any pressure onto the body. A proper warm-up before vigorous exercise safely prepares the body for the workload. Cold muscles do not absorb shock or impact as well, and are more susceptible to injury. Warm muscles stretch better and allow greater range of motion for the joints. While scientific studies are ongoing to define the best warm-up techniques to gain this injury-prevention advantage, the warm-up in general is firmly established as a key to exercising safely and effectively. A warm up should be done before any strength training or aerobic activity.
Benefits
A warm-up helps your body prepare itself for exercise both mentally and physically, and reduces the chance of injury. During a warm-up, any injury or illness you have can often be recognized, and further injury prevented. Other benefits of a proper warm up include:
- Increased movement of blood through your tissues, making the muscles more pliable.
- Increased delivery of oxygen and nutrients to your muscles by increasing the blood flow. This prevents you from getting out of breath early or too easily.
- Prepares your muscles for stretching (which should follow a good warm up)
- Prepares your heart for an increase in activity, preventing a rapid increase in blood pressure
- Prepares you mentally for the upcoming exercise
- Primes your nerve-to-muscle pathways to be ready for exercise
- Improves coordination and reaction times
Guidelines
When considering the guidelines for warming up, keep in mind the F.I.T.T. Principles (frequency, intensity, time and type):
Frequency :
Number of Sessions Per Week.
A proper warm up should be done before any exercise session or physical activity, whether it is a cardio or strength training workout, or simply gardening.
Intensity: Speed or Exercise Workload
A warm-up should start with exercises of low intensity and then progress to match the intensity of the main exercises of the workout. The greater the intensity of the workout, the longer its warm-up should be. Speed, strength, and difficult technical workouts should have longer warm-ups than aerobic fitness or endurance workouts. A general recommendation is to perform a warm-up that includes all the large muscle groups of the body.
To make your warm up effective, do movements that increase your heart rate and breathing, and slightly increase the temperature of your muscle tissue. A good indication of this is when you have raised a light sweat. Your warm up should be nice and easy. If it makes you too tired, try doing less strenuous warm up exercises.
Time: How Long for Each Session
Your warm up should last at least 5-10 minutes (or slightly longer in cold weather). Breathing will be harder than normal, but not as hard as during the actual exercise.
Type: Activities That Count
See “examples” above. The warm up can be a lower intensity version of the workout you are about to do, or it can be a completely different exercise. As long as it increases your heart rate and breathing, and involves the muscles you are about to use, it is considered a proper warm up.
As an added bonus, you can perform a light static
stretching routine at the end of your warm up by stretching each of the muscle groups you will be using in your chosen activity. (Stretching alone is not considered a warm up.) A static stretch should be held at the point where you feel a mild pulling sensation but not pain. If you feel pain, ease back on the stretch. Remember not to bounce when holding the stretch. Don’t spend so long doing your stretches that your muscles cool down and your heart rate returns to normal. It is better to do most of your stretching at the end of your workout, after the cool down.
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Definition
Lowering of body temperature following vigorous exercise. The practice of cooling down after exercise means slowing down your level of activity gradually.
Examples
A cool down can be a slower version of the activity you just did. For example, walk after jogging or jog after running. The cool down should be gradual. In other words, do not go straight from running full speed to a walk. A light jog in between would be more appropriate so your body can slowly return to normal. The cool down can also be a different activity than you just did, provided it involves the same muscles.
Purpose
The purpose of the cool-down is to slowly decrease the heart rate and the overall metabolism previously elevated during exercise. When your activity ends abruptly, especially vigorous exercise, your blood pressure drops, which could cause dizziness or fainting. A proper cool-down prevents the sudden pooling of blood (collection of blood in one place) and re-circulates the blood back to the heart, skeletal muscles and brain. This phase of your workout helps prevent muscle stiffness or soreness.
You may see conflicting advice as to whether cooling down prevents post-exercise muscle soreness, also known as delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS). However, even if cooling down doesn’t prevent DOMS, the other benefits of cooling down mean that you should always make it a part of your exercise session.
Active rest is very important after an aerobic exercise session. This type of recovery brings the body back down to near resting levels and helps eliminate metabolic waste products of exercise (lactic acid). During the active rest phase, stretching and flexibility exercises should be performed.
Benefits
A proper cool down provides many benefits. Some of these include:
- Helps your heart rate and breathing return to normal gradually
- Helps avoid fainting or dizziness, which can result from blood pooling in the large muscles of the legs when vigorous activity is stopped suddenly
- Prepares your muscles for the next exercise session, enabling you to compete again at the same level within a short period of time (whether it’s tomorrow or a few days from now)
- Removes waste products from your muscles, such as lactic acid, which can build up during vigorous activity
- Reduces the immediate post-exercise tendency for muscle spasm or cramping
- Reduces muscle soreness and stiffness
Guidelines
When considering the guidelines for cooling down, keep in mind the F.I.T.T. principles (
Frequency,
Intensity,
Time and
Type):
Frequency: Number of Sessions Per Week
A proper cool down should be done after any exercise session to help the heart rate gradually return to normal.
Intensity: Speed or Exercise Workload
Cool down with a low intensity exercise after a vigorous workout. Continue your chosen exercise (or a different one) while gradually slowing its intensity. Gradually slowing down the pace and exertion of your activity over several minutes can seem a natural progression, as well as fulfilling the need to include a cool-down period at the end of your exercise. Another option is to jog or walk briskly for a few minutes after your exercise, making sure that this activity is lower in intensity than the exercise you have just performed.
Time: How Long for Each Session
A 10 to 15 minute cool-down period allows heart rate and breathing to return to normal. After exercise or strenuous physical activity, it is important to decrease your body temperature gradually until your normal body temperature is reached.
Type: Activities That Count
See “examples” above. The cool down can be a lower intensity version of the workout you just did, or it can be a completely different exercise. As long as it slowly lowers your heart rate and breathing, and involves the muscles you just worked, it is considered a proper cool down.
The best time to stretch is after your cool-down, since your muscles are still warm and most likely to respond favorably, and there is a low risk of injury.
Stretching helps to relax your muscles, restores them to their resting length, and improves flexibility (the range of movement of your joints). Make these post-exercise stretches more thorough than your pre-exercise stretches. Ensure that you stretch all the major muscle groups that you have used during your exercise. It is also important reducing soreness in your muscles the following day.
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