Importance of Warming Up | HBR Personal Training

Be honest: do you ignore your personal trainer’s suggestion to do a few warm-up activities before your main workout? It turns out that a majority of people do NOT warm-up before they start exercising…

Fitness experts recommend warming up because it forms a vital component in all workouts. During this time, you should target all the muscles that you are going to use in your training session. This may include cardiovascular activities such as jogging or walking.

Generally, the length will depend on the intensity of your main workout. Warming up anywhere from 5 to 30-minutes provides significant benefits for most people though. Just those few minutes can reduce a lot of stress on your muscles and heart!

Here are some more advantages on why you should be warming up:

1. Enhances Muscle Flexibility

As the body temperature rises, there is an increase in blood flow to your muscles and they become more flexible. Flexibility lowers stress on your joints + tendons and warm, well-lubricated and joints will prepare you to execute sudden movements with ease.Additionally, you minimize the possibility of acute injury and reduce the occurrences of overuse injuries such as tendonitis. A 10-15 minutes workout can reduce muscle strains and pulls. (Note: no warm-up can prevent fractures and broken bones, so it is best to avoid injuries whenever possible)

2. Prepares the Cardiovascular and Nervous System

A good warm-up prepares the cardiovascular system for exercise. Since movement stimulates the muscles, your heart responds by pumping blood faster. Warm-ups can ease your cardiovascular system into those greater demands and decrease the risk of high blood pressure. Both your body and brain need to connect to embrace the safety and efficiency of your workout. Warming-up also helps your body shift from any activity you were doing prior to training.

3. Improves Performance

Keep in mind that doing a warm-up can help you perform with more strength, speed, and flexibility, not just physical performing, but mentally as well so that you can enjoy the training session. This makes it easier to ‘get into the zone’. When the body handles the demands you put on it with exercise, you will have less stiffness or soreness post-workout.

4. Increases Body Temperature

The body performs at its best when its temperature is slightly higher. Warm-ups, especially in colder weather or early in the morning, can help raise your body’s core temperature to improve performance. Plus, the American Council on Exercise notes that you may burn more calories at higher body temperatures.

5. Boosts Endurance

The body gives up on exercise if there is too much lactic build-up in your blood., which can happen quickly if you aren’t warming up. This can make working out seem almost impossible during the first few minutes. However, your energy systems are adjusted during warm-ups to the increased demand, meaning less buildup of lactic acid and resulting in a harder and longer workout.

Keep in mind that finding the perfect warm-up is a process that YOU must figure out for yourself and can only come with practice, experimentation, and experience. Keep trying various drills at different intensities until you find what is best for you!