It always amazes me when I see people who don’t warm-up. Most people don’t warm-up properly, mostly because they don’t understand what they’re doing- but at least they’re trying. Even “Gigantor” over there in the gym corner playing with the 100lb dumbells has to warm-up well to get his proper pump on.
It’s not just about a faster heart rate! You see, whether you’re doing cardio, or strength training, MMA, or Ballet, there’s a series of changes that happen in the body that are critical to peak performance – or getting the most out of your efforts. Without an optimal supply of oxygen and nutrients, your muscles can’t perform or recover, just like your car can’t run without fuel and oxygen.
Every warm-up should be at least 10-20 minutes. This can be any type of activity (preferably one that is similar to the workout you’re about to do) that slowly takes you from normal to 90% without wearing you down too much. You know that second wind runners used to talk about 15-20 minutes in….. That was them being warmed up
Yes we get our heart rate up, and we breathe a bit harder. Most people go too short, or not hard enough though. You want to actually crack a sweat and breathe really hard. You see once your heart is pounding and lungs are really working, your vascular system starts to change. Blood vessels start constricting or dilating to move more blood and oxygen to the necessary muscles. This is your body’s fuel injection system kicking in, this is when you get 20% more out of yourself for the same effort. You lift more, and you burn more calories, You recover better, and you look better for your efforts.
Best of all….. It’s the easy part
