Proper Warm-Up Protocols

Elevating Human Performance Through Proper Nutrition and Resistance Training

Before the exercise session can even begin, it’s imperative that the individual goes through a warm-up phase of training to ensure that they get maximum results while at the same time helping reduce the risk of potential injury associated with the workout. The benefits of a thorough, well-planned warm-up phase includes physiological effects such as: “increases central nervous system function (improving such qualities as coordination and reaction speed to name just a few), makes muscles more pliable, and facilitates joint lubrication”.1 Other benefits include a higher body temperature and a more efficient way to deliver nutrients throughout the body as a result of a slightly higher blood pressure. These facts alone are more than enough to prove that an individual who properly warms-up will be at a much greater advantage of having an efficient workout compared to the individual who just goes through the motions without having an effective warm-up regime.

There are several types of ways an individual can prep the body for exercise, but for the sake of time and space, I will just stick to two: dynamic stretching and progressive aerobic. “An ideal intensity for an aerobic warm-up has yet to be established, but a basic guideline is to work at a level that produces a small amount of perspiration, but doesn't leave you feeling fatigued.”2 Think of hopping on a stationary bike or even an elliptical for 5-10 minutes for moderate intensity. This part of the warm-up phase is only designed to get the individual to work up a small sweat to ensure the core temperature of the body is increasing.

The dynamic stretching portion of the warm-up phase can be simplified into essentially mimicking the exercises to be performed in the workout itself. For example, if you plan on back squatting during the exercise, a proper dynamic stretch would be to perform bodyweight squat jumps to prime the lower portion of the kinetic chain (glutes, hamstrings, hip flexors, calves) for the workout.

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All in all, warming up is essential if the individual wants to have an efficient and effective workout. It can last as little as 5-10 minutes but the benefits will without a doubt carry over into a workout that can lasts up to or over an hour in length.

1Staley, C. (2000, July 28). Warming-Up to a Great Workout | T Nation. Retrieved October 27, 2016, from https://www.t-nation.com/training/warming-up-to-a-great-workout

2Warm Up to Work Out. (n.d.). Retrieved October 27, 2016, from https://www.acefitness.org/acefit/fitness-fact-article/86/warm-up-to-work-out/