Warming up our body prior to any type of physical activities are critical and should not be skipped. Why? There are number of changes that occur in the body once physical
activity is initiated. Your respiratory rate, blood flow, and
oxygen and nutrient levels delivered
to the cells increases. As the rate of demands to the cell increases, it should be regulated in a steady pace to prepare the body for the
physical stress that exercise will demand. If we skip this process by by-passing the proper warm-ups and go straight into strenuous activities, the body will function less
efficiently and the workout will produce less quality results and could result in injuries. Warming
up allows more oxygen intake which supplies more oxygen to your bloodstream, prepares the nervous system, heightens mental
awareness and alertness, and loosens up joints
and muscles to make them less prone to injuries. Warm ups jump starts
the fluid located in the joints, minimizing the risk for
wear and tear of the muscles. It gives the
heart a suitable period to adjust and pump up blood and nutrients into
muscles.
Warm ups can be done in any form that allow the heart to beat faster. For example, walking or jogging at a gentle pace, and then
slowly increase the pace until heart beat rate increases
and the body temperature rises. The pace will differ for each person based on individual's fitness level, where the activity will leave
the person energized
and not exhausted and working a light sweat is a good indicator of a body warming up.
After the 3-5 minute warm-up it should be followed by a dynamic stretching. Stretching helps
in developing overall flexibility and reduces injury and supplies better flow of blood to your muscles which results in supplying the muscles with oxygen. One should
only perform stretching if the muscles are already warmed up. Do not bounce
while stretching. It leads to a contraction that can
result in muscle tear or pull.
If warm-ups are so important, why do so many skip this? Sometimes we tend to just want to jump right into the actual activity just because we want to begin our activity or people just over-look it and is not aware of the concept of a warm-up.
To avoid skipping warm-ups, a regular simple routine can be practiced and each time prior to your activities. At Cooper's New England Martial Arts, students generally warm up by running around the school, or performing warm-up kicks. There are number of simple routines you can follow below.
Warm ups
