Warming Up With Fitness Equipment
Introduction
Warming up is without a doubt the most critical part of any exercise, sadly it’s also the most neglected. This article explains the reasons for warming up and also how to warm up and cool down.
The reasons for warming up
Warming up ensures increased contractile speed in muscle fibres as well as shorter response times. The efficiency of energy contractions is increased as a result of the lower viscosity of warmed muscles which cause resistance to the production of muscular force.
An increased oxygen uptake into myoglobin due to haemoglobin releasing oxygen more readily at higher muscle temperature
How to warm up
A good warm up should be a dynamic focused routine. An assortment of movements stimulates greater blood flow providing greater oxygen supply and carbon dioxide removal
Cardio activity should ideally involve all gross muscles as well as the precious muscles that will be used during the workout. The best fitness equipment to use for your warm up would be a rowing machine
The initial warm up should be between 5-10 minutes at a moderate pace that induces a ‘very close to sweating’ state, you should also be slightly out of breath
The next 5-10 minutes should be dynamic stretching (this is a controlled movement through a full range of motion) resulting in less stiffness in the muscle fibres. Static stretching has been shown to have no effect on ‘delayed onset muscle soreness’, DOMS.
The warm up should involve a thorough use of these Muscle movements. The hips and the neck play an essential role in balancing and coordinating the movements of the body thus warm up of these two joints.
For weight training, the wrists and fingers are crucial due to the force they incur. Consequently it is essential to warm up these muscles before training. An example of this would be bench pressing with the bar only for 15 – 20 reps.
How to warm down and relax
Warming down should consist of an initial 5-10 minutes of jogging on a treadmill ending up with a walking pace to slow your heart rate. A period of static stretches should follow due to it being an effective way to cooling the body.
Now remember the relaxing part after the exercise is the second most neglected part. Make sure once you have finished cooling down that you relax, this is especially true if you lift weights.
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