Benefits of a Proper Warm-up

The sport of running is a unique blending of spiritual, physical,

environmental and mental challenges. It is both a sport and an experience. One
often overlooked ingredient that is vital to success in this demanding activity is a
proper warm-up routine. A proper warm-up prepares you to fully utilize your
physical, neurological and psychological capabilities. The muscular system must
be properly prepared and so the temperature of the muscles must be elevated in
order for them to work with optimal efficiency. The circulatory system must be
properly stimulated in order for the most efficient transfer of oxygen and carbon
dioxide. The working muscles must be saturated with as much oxygen rich blood
as possible prior to running. In addition, the body's cooling system must be
elevated to its most efficient level. In my opinion, all this cannot happen without a
structured warm-up. The neurological system must be prepared in order for the
proper laying down of the technical neural patterns required for efficient running.
With proper and consistant warm-up the correct neural reflexes will be
programmed. This will allow you to rely on proper conditioned reflexes for
efficient movement. This also helps to allow for proper running rhythm. The
warm-up must also prepare you for the psychological demands of training and
racing. I believe you must have some sort of structured warm-up procedure that
gradually increases your focus until a total relaxed concentration is reached. In
closing,without optimal preparation of the physical, mental and neurological
systems its impossible to expect optimal performance in training or competition.
What are the Benefits of Warming Up?
A warm-up helps you prepare both mentally and physically for exercise,
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. This prevents you
from getting out of breath early or too easily.
-Prepares your muscles for stretching
-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



Benefits of a Proper Warm Up:
-Increased Muscle Temperature - The temperature increases within muscles that
are used during a warm-up routine. A warmed muscle both contracts more
forcefully and relaxes more quickly. In this way both speed and strength can be
enhanced. Also, the probability of overstretching a muscle and causing injury is
far less.
-Increased Body Temperature - This improves muscle elasticity, also reducing
the risk of strains and pulls.
-Blood Vessels Dilate - This reduces the resistance to blood flow and lower
stress on the heart.
-Improve Efficient Cooling - By activating the heat-dissipation mechanisms in
the body (efficient sweating) an athlete can cool efficiently and help prevent
overheating early in the event or race.
-Increased Blood Temperature - The temperature of blood increases as it travels
through the muscles, and as blood temperature rises, the amount of oxygen it can
hold becomes reduced. This means a slightly greater volume of oxygen is made
available to the working muscles, enhancing endurance and performance.
-Improved Range of Motion - The range of motion around a joint is increased.
-Hormonal Changes - Your body increases its production of various hormones
responsible for regulating energy production. During warm-up this balance of
hormones makes more carbohydrates and fatty acids available for energy
production.
-Mental Preparation - The warm-up is also a good time to mentally prepare for
an event by clearing the mind, increasing focus, reviewing skills and strategy.
Positive imagery can also relax the athlete and build concentration.
Typical Warm up exercises include:
-Gradually increasing the intensity of your specific sport. This uses the specific
skills of a sport and is sometimes called a related warm-up. For runners, the idea
is to jog a while and add a few sprints into the routine to engage all the muscle
fibers.
-Adding movements not related to your sport in a slow steady manner:
calisthenics or flexibility exercises for example. Ball players often use unrelated
exercise for their warm up.
-Which to choose? The best time to stretch a muscle is after it has an increased
blood flow and has increased temperature to avoid injury. Stretching a cold
muscle can increase the risk of injury from pulls and tears. So you are better off
doing gradual aerobic exercise before stretching. Keep in mind that the best time
to stretch is after exercise because your muscles are warm and pliable with the
increase of blood in them.Make sure your warm up begins gradually, and uses the
muscles that will be stressed during exercise.
-Keep in mind that the perfect warm up is a very individual process that can
only come with practice, experimentation and experience. Try warming up in
various way, at various intensities until you find what works best for you.
Running on a treadmill can have its benefits, such as protection from the
elements and unsafe running conditions. But when you take your runs indoors,
you need to make sure that you're running properly on the treadmill so you can
avoid injuries and get the most out of your treadmill runs. Here are some of the
most common treadmill running mistakes, starting with not warming up or
cooling down:
It's tempting to jump on the treadmill, increase the incline or pace setting
to your desired levels and get going. But, just like with outdoor running, it's
important that you warm-up before getting into the more challenging part of your
run.
If you've ever felt a little dizzy after you took that first step off the
treadmill, it's most likely because you didn't cool down at the end of your run.
You may feel like jumping off the treadmill as soon as the timer hits your goal
time for your run. But stopping suddenly can cause light-headedness because your
heart rate and blood pressure drop rapidly. Winding down slowly allows them to
fall gradually. After you finish your run, make sure you cool down by walking or
slowly jogging for 5 to 10 minutes before you step off the treadmill.
If you've made it to this part of your workout, you've already achieved
success, having dealt with the mental obstacles that stand in the way of your
workout. The warm up is your chance to focus on the physical...namely, getting
your body ready for the workout to come. For this reason, the warm up is an
essential part of your workout, not just for your body, but for your mind.
Warming up is important for a number of reasons including:
* It warms the muscles and increases body temperature, which improves the
oxygen supply to the body
* It helps increase blood flow to the muscles, allowing them to contract and
relax more quickly
* It helps prepare the body and the mind for more strenuous activity
* It may help reduce the risk of injury
* It may increase overall exercise performance
* It increases the elasticity of the ligaments, tendons and other connective
tissues

There are different ways to warm up and they're often classified into three
categories: passive, general and specific. With passive warm ups, you raise the
body's temperature by doing things like sitting in a hot tub or taking a hot shower.
General warm ups involve increasing the heart rate and body temperature by just
moving the body around. Specific warm ups mean you do similar movements to
the exercises you'll be doing. Any of these can work and what you choose will
often depend on what type of exercise you're doing. Passive warm ups (like taking
a hot bath) can be a good choice for gentle activities such as stretching or yoga
workouts. For other types of workouts, you may want to choose more specific
activities. Warm ups for Cardio Workouts. For cardio workouts, it's best to stick
with lighter versions of the exercise you'll be doing. For example, if you're
running, you might start with a few minutes of light walking, move into a slow
jog and then into the workout. If you're doing an aerobics workout, you might
start with low-impact moves (step-touches, grapevines, marching in place, etc.)
before you move on to more vigorous activities. Warm ups for Strength Training.
For strength workouts, you can either do a general warm up (e.g., do a few
minutes of light cardio) or a specific warm up where you do warm up sets for each
exercise. In that case, you might do one set of the coming exercise with lighter
weights before you reach for the heavier weights.
Whatever type of warm up you choose, use the following tips for getting the most
of your warm up:
* Warm up for about 5-10 minutes. How long you warm up will often depend
on what you're doing and how much time you need to transition into exercise. For
example, if you're working out on a cold day or doing a very hard workout, you
may need 10 or more minutes to warm up. If you're doing a light workout or
you're already warm from doing other activities, you may need just a few minutes.
* Stretch if you need it. There's some controversery over whether to stretch
before or after your workout. I often recommend that my clients do the bulk of
their stretching after the cool down. But, if you have chronically tight muscles
(like your lower back or hips) doing a few stretches beforehand may make your
workout more comfortable.
* Take your time. The idea is to warm up gradually. Allowing your heart rate
and respiration to increase slowly will make the transition into your workout
easier and give your body time to prepare for what's to come.














Musculosceletal System



Physiology



















Name : Nur Fitriyani Faridin
Student number : C 111 09 787
Group : B 6
Assistant:








Medical Faculty
Hasanuddin University
2010