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Fitness

Your Warm Up: Why Bother?

Properly prepare your body for exercise by doing an adequate warm up.

Emma Oko

Written by Emma Oko Last updated on April 27, 2018

Is all this twisting and folding really necessary?

When we warm up, either by stretching or performing a moderated version of the activity to come, we’re preparing our bodies in several different ways—three of which are crucial to our performance, recovery, and outcome.

Is all this twisting and folding really necessary?

When we warm up, either by stretching or performing a moderated version of the activity to come, we’re preparing our bodies in several different ways—three of which are crucial to our performance, recovery, and outcome.

The Pulse Raiser

Isn’t it nicer to be woken up gently rather than a bucket of cold water in the face? When it comes to exercise we should treat our hearts with the same courtesy. A gradual rise in intensity rather than a sudden spike will better prepare the heart for what’s coming. The pulse raising element of a warm up should leave us breathless but still able to complete a spoken sentence.

The Role of Mobility

As our bodies begin to move, your synovial joints (think heels, knees, hips, and shoulders) release synovial fluid for lubrication and to protect the cartilage at the head of the bone. As muscle fibers start to lengthen and contract, most of us notice an increased range of motion in the limbs. This improvement in flexibility is increased by the generation of body heat but it’s also due to the breakdown of fascia, the connective tissue that covers our muscles.

After a few minutes of repetitive movement muscles become more elastic and a greater amount of blood, enriched with oxygen and other essential nutrients, is delivered to them. At this point some of us have that lovely feeling of getting into our stride. Sufficient oxygen levels in the working muscles will hold back the lactic threshold so we can keep going for longer before fatigue sets in.

Take a Moment for Flexibility

Our range of motion (how far we can reach with our limbs) determines the amount of skilled movement we can put in to our chosen activity. The more quality and quantity of effort we put in, the more we’ll get out so it’s crucial that we put as much focus on our flexibility as we do with every other part of our fitness training.

There are various stretching techniques and in order to select the right one it’s a good idea to consider the activity you’re going to be doing—for example you could loosen your shoulders before a game of tennis by swinging your arms back and forth. A pre-workout stretch might require dynamic (active) stretches but keep in mind this can sometimes have the unwanted effect of overexciting the surrounding muscles. In an unmonitored environment, passive or static stretches are the safer and more effective option.

Time to Get Warm

When your warm up is complete there’s a lot less resistance between what the body wants to do and what the mind is ready to face. In other words, a good warm up ultimately connects the mind and body and get us in the zone for an awesome session.

Here’s a gentle warm up routine that includes dynamic compound stretches and a pulse raiser or two:

Emma Oko

About Emma Oko

Emma's interest in fitness began back in 2009 when she joined the Territorial Army. Before that, Emma had never been out of breath. Her initial motive for getting fit was to pass army selection and keep up with the troop but she immediately noticed how alive exercise made her feel.

Emma pursued her studies all the way to Sheffield Hallam University where she studied bio mechanics. Working long shifts in gyms highlighted some dysfunctional training techniques frequently applied by seasoned gym users. She noticed that many people were treading water rather than making the progress they wanted and she wanted to help them. Her clients now like to call her The Fixer.

Emma is located in the UK and started her company OKOactive in 2010. She focuses on developing functional movement patterns and exercises for her clients that help reverse the damage done by lifestyle and poor training techniques.

Emma believes that fitness is a natural human state and once we get the right balance of movement, nutrition, and rest, the aesthetic rewards are never far behind.

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