Whether you’re competing at a high level, or you’re just trying to keep fit or lose weight in your spare time, it can be tempting to skip the warmup and get straight to the fun part. While younger people can sometimes get away with this, as you get older failing to warm up before exercising will drastically increase your chances of picking up an injury.
While injury prevention is the main reason to warm up, there are plenty more reasons to warm up before you partake in sports or exercise. Here’s how to warm up effectively and the benefits of doing so.
The benefits of warming up
Prevent Injury
As already mentioned, warmup reduces the risk of injury. A thorough warmup helps by lubricating your joints before you engage them in more strenuous movements. The joints in our bodies are lubricated by synovial fluid and a good warmup helps to activate this helpful little fluid.
Synovial fluid helps reduce the risk of injury by:
• Increasing the range of movement in joints
• Supplying nutrients to keep joints healthy
• Acting as a shock absorber
Better Performance
Have you noticed how F1 cars perform a formation lap before the start of a Grand Prix? This allows the cars’ engine and tyres to warm up which increases the performance of the cars, allowing them to reach top speed quicker and helping the tyres grip the race track more effectively.
During a warmup, you can think of your body as an F1 car on a formation lap. It’s your opportunity to warm the muscles up gradually so they’re primed for the start of your activity, whether that be a gym workout or competitive sports.
Psychological Preparation
The benefits of warming up correctly aren’t limited to just physical benefits. If you’re warming up prior to a competition or event, it can also help you focus and mentally prepare your body for battle.
In combat sports like boxing and MMA, being in the correct mindset when your bout starts is critical. Therefore, high-level athletes will focus on incorporating techniques like visualisation into their warmup routine.
Surgical Recovery
Warming up should not be secluded to preparing for exercise. If you have spent a lot of time in sedentary movement due to being unable to move due to injury/ recovery from surgery, it’s important to warm up and stretch for something as simple as a walk.
Spending too much time sitting down, for example if you have been recovering from plastic surgery, is not good long term. Be sure to warm up every morning with movements such as yoga or dynamic exercise as long as it’s been approved by your physician.
How to warm up effectively
Warming up correctly depends on what you’re doing. But here is a general warmup routine you can follow for most exercise and activities.
Dynamic Stretches
Dynamic stretching refers to movement-based stretches. These better resemble the movements that you’ll engage in once you start your workout. As a result, dynamic stretching is a great way to start your warmup as it slowly wakes up your muscles after long periods of inactivity.
Examples of dynamic stretches include:
• Walking lunges
• Arm circles
• Hip circles
• High kicks
• Squats
Aerobic Warmup
Once your muscles are feeling looser, it’s a good idea to get the blood flowing around your full body. Start with a light jog getting gradually more intense as you start to feel looser. Whatever you do, don’t work up to a full sprint during a warmup, this is a risk and can cause injury which is the very thing you’re trying to prevent!
Static Stretches
Static stretches are performed when staying still in a certain position while you stretch. They’re a little harsher on your muscles than dynamic stretches and for that reason, static stretches are often performed as part of a cool-down. However, if being performed as part of a warmup, static stretches should be performed towards the end of your warmup once your body has begun to feel looser.
Final thoughts
The consequences of failing to warm up range from not performing at your best, to being left looking for medical support as a result of severe injury. It doesn’t matter what type of exercise or activity you’re participating in, a warmup should always form part of your pre-exercise routine.
If you’re looking to reduce the risk of injury even further, you should also partake in a cooldown after your activity. A cooldown safely and gradually returns your body to a regular state which can also help to speed up recovery.
