Warming Up Before Workout

Warming Up Before Workout:

All serve their different purposes, but the two you should be most concerned with, in terms of your warm up and cool down for weight training and other similar activities are dynamic and static stretching, which I will talk about later.

Warming up is very important before any workout, whether it be before a 100 m sprint or before maxing out on bench press. But the question you may be asking is why it is important?

The answer is because it prepares muscles and joints for greater levels of activity, and also primes CNS to fire. It also has numerous other benefits such as:

Reducing muscle stiffness (which is directly related to muscle injury)

Increases speed of contraction/relaxation of the muscles that have been warmed up. 

Removes lactic acid accumulated during previous workouts Increases blood circulation to muscles Increases efficiency of oxygen usage by warmed up muscles (hemoglobin releases oxygen more readily at higher muscle temperatures)Neuromuscular coordination is improved by warming up before performing a movement Does Stretching Help Prevent Injury & Soreness?Could It Make Someone More Prone To Injury Through Overtraining? 

Stretching, when done correctly and properly, can assist in the prevention of injury and soreness, as well as increasing flexibility. There are many types of stretching, such as static, dynamic, ballistic, passive, active and assisted. 

Overstretching however is not a good idea. This will make you more prone to injury by over training and will consequently take you longer to improve your flexibility. 

Overstretching will produce microscopic tears (micro traumas) causing your muscular soreness, which will occur during or immediately after the stretch if severe, or a day or two later if minor. This can hinder your ability to recover quickly from a workout, so don't overdo it.

What Types Of Stretches Do You Perform Before A Workout?

Do You Stretch You Whole Body Or Just The Body Parts You Are Working That Day? When stretching prior to working out, the best type of stretches to perform are dynamic stretches. These stretches reduce muscle stiffness, which is related to muscle injury. Dynamic stretches consist of controlled leg and arm swings.

Stretching during your workout is not necessary; just perform your warm up sets prior to each exercise. If you are going to stretch during your workout, don't stretch the muscle you are directly using in the movement(s), stretch the antagonistic muscles e.g. 

When squatting, stretch the hip flexors, or when benching, stretch the lats. This has been shown to be of great assistance and can help improve your performance in the movement(s).

You are only required to stretch the body parts you are working on the day. However keep in mind you must know what muscles and joints you are working in the particular exercise(s), a lot of the time there are a lot more muscles involved than you think.

What Stretching Routine Do You Follow?

After a light jog, to increase body temperature (break a sweat) I will perform some of the following stretches, depending on what muscle and joints groups I am targeting on that day.

Pre Workout - Dynamic Stretching (10 Swings Per Side)Basic Joint movement (flexion/extension/rotation)Shoulder Circling Arm Swings (Overhead/Down and back and Side/Front Crossover)Hip Circles/Twist Side Bends Leg Swings (Flexi on/Extension and Cross-Body flexion/Abduction)Lunges Double Leg Ankle Bounce Once I have finished my workout, I normally go for a light 5 minute walk to cool down, and then perform the following stretches, again depending on the muscle groups that have been worked during my workout. 

Post Workout - Static Stretching (10 Seconds Hold per Side)Chest Stretch Bicep Stretch Upper Back Stretch Shoulder and Triceps Stretch Side Bends Abdominal and Lower Back Stretch Quadriceps Stretch Hamstring Stretch Calf Stretch How Important Is The Cool Down? Does It Affect Muscle Recovery? Soreness?

Cooling down decreases body temperature and will remove any waste products, such as lactic acid, from the muscles that are being used. The other benefits of cooling down include:

Reduction in the potential of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) occurring: Reduction of adrenaline levels in the blood. Reduction in the potential of dizziness or fainting occurring:

If you cool down correctly then you will experience greater recovery and you will find you will not be as sore the day after your workout. 

The best way to cool down is to, first; go for a light walk for around 5-10 minutes after your workout. 

This helps reduce your body temperature and remove waste products such as lactic acid, from the muscles being used. When stretching after training, the best types of stretches to perform are static stretches. These stretches help the muscles to relax and will increase their range of movement. 

Static stretching involves gradually easing into the stretch position and holding that position for a certain period of time. These are best performed after you have cooled down.

All in all, the cool down process will assist your recovery greatly. You'll find that you won't be as sore the day after your workout and your muscles will be able to recover faster reducing your chances of over training and instead allowing you to make important progress.