We understand that finding time to work out can be difficult, and doing the warm-up in the morning and then going straight to the workout may be tempting. However, there are benefits of warm-ups that you’ll miss if you do not do it, and they’re pretty awesome.
The warm-up is the most important aspect of the professional exercise trainer, certified and correctional exercise expert Keith Hodges, CPT, the founder of Mind in Muscle Coaching in Los Angeles, tells SELF. The trainer says this is because it sets the tone physically and mentally for the next workout. If you take the time to prepare your body to exercise, you’ll increase your odds of getting an effective, safe, and engaging exercise.
Then why do many of us skip this crucial process? In the case of many, it boils down to timing.
“I think that most people don’t believe in warming up due to the belief that it will take too long,” Kellen Scantlebury, DPT, CSCS, founder of Fit Club NY, tells SELF. However, in most cases, it’s just 5-10 minutes to have a decent warm-up. Putting in that short period doesn’t take any off your exercise, Scantlebury says. Actually, “it makes your workout even more focused and more efficient,” he says.
The Science of the Perfect Warm-Up
What makes an effective warm-up is based on various variables that include your level of fitness and duration, intensity, and kind of exercise you’re planning to perform. However, as a guideline, it is that a good warm-up will engage the muscles you’re planning to utilize during your workout to get you mentally ready to raise your heart rate and loosen up parts of your body that are tight, and get your core moving (which is a crucial component in the various exercises in your routine, including ones which do not count as “core exercise”). According to Scantlebury, a great warm-up should feel between 25 and 50% more intensified as your workout. This means it’s pretty easy.
Furthermore, even though you could think of “stretching” as a warm-up or preparing for your workout, it’s as simple as that. Effective warm-ups tend to concentrate on dynamic stretches over static stretches, like exercises that you’re moving around rather than ones where you hold a pose to get your muscles moving and gradually increase the heart rate. For an example of what an effective warm-up should look like, look through this five-move routine to prepare you for any exercise routine and this upper-body warming routine.
Now that you’ve got some ideas on how to get warm, Let’s explore the benefits of warming up your time. Here are five incredible warming benefits that will inspire you to incorporate one into your daily routine right away.
Your risk of injury could be reduced by warm-ups.
Perhaps the most significant benefit of warming up before an exercise is that It could help lower your risk of injury.
It’s because warming up triggers specific physiological reactions, including increased blood flow, breathing, and heart rate, that is crucial in aiding your body to prevent injuries trained strength and conditioning expert Janet Hamilton, CSCS, an exercise physiologist as well as a running coach at Running Strong in Atlanta, says to SELF. A boost in blood flow towards your muscles, along with the heat generated by your muscles during contraction, is combined with increasing the strength of your connective tissues and tendons more resilient to the stresses your body will encounter when you are in the heaviest portions of your exercise, she adds. Additionally, warming up can help your body get used to more intense movements, which allows you to perform better and safer throughout your workout, according to The American Council for Exercise.
Indeed, a review of nine studies published in the journal BMC Medicine in 2012 concluded that specific warm-up techniques–including stretching, strengthening, balance work, and agility drills–could help athletes reduce their risk of a lower-body injury.
As we’ve mentioned before, the importance of a warm-up will also stimulate all the muscles you plan to work out with. If all key players are in a good mood and active, you’re more likely to use the correct muscles for a particular exercise in a less risky way. Overload the wrong muscles. According to Hodges says, during a warm-up exercise, “your body’s working as one unit, and not to a different body part trying to fill in the gaps to compensate for something that’s not functioning.” In the same way, a warm-up will help prevent injuries caused by improper exercises or improper form.
By stretching your quads, glutes, and hamstrings before your squat-based exercise, you’ll be more likely to be able to use the muscles while doing squats, rather than putting excessive stress on, say, the lower back area, Hodges says.
Your workout could become more effective.
In the same way, warming up before exercise will reduce the risk of injuries; this could help make your workout far more efficient.
A proper warm-up can heat the fluids around the joints, Hamilton explains. Once these fluids have heated, they are less sticky and thick, which allows you to move more freely (while decreasing your risk of injury, as we have mentioned). According to Hodges, effective warm-ups also stimulate your muscles, which allows them to function better as a unit. As a result, you’ll be more agile and have the correct form, increasing the likelihood of a great workout that brings you nearer to your fitness goals.
The research supports this claim. A meta-analysis from 2010 consisting of 33 studies released in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that warm-ups before workouts improved performances in 79% of situations that included swimming, running, and cycling training. So it’s not a bad thing.
As we’ve mentioned before, to achieve the most benefit from your workout warm-up routine, it’s essential to incorporate exercises that target the same muscle groups you plan to work on during your exercise. So, for example, if running, a warm-up that incorporates squats could be an ideal alternative to focus on, for instance, the sets of pull-ups.
You’ll be able to work faster and more efficiently.
The act of warming up before sweating can increase the effectiveness of your workout but also cut down on time. What’s the deal, you might think? Don’t warm-ups add time to your training?
On the surface, adding a five-minute warm-up can take your workout 5 minutes longer. However, it will also cut down some time in your training because you’ll be prepared to begin your workout once the warm-up has ended and your workout begins. It’s because a great warm-up stimulates not just the muscles but activates your entire neuromuscular system, says Scantlebury.
Once you’ve started with your exercise routine, your body is prepared to complete the task at the intensity you’re seeking, which means you won’t have to waste time or reps trying to get into the rhythm. “It will make your workout is more effective,” says Scantlebury.
Find the appropriate headspace.
We’ll admit that between tensions from pandemics and global instability, the majority of us think about these days. If we’re not mindful of it, we’re likely to bring this energy-driven exercise.
A warm-up, in contrast, can allow us to shift into a different mental state before exercise to ensure that we are fully engaged in our movement. Also, having the proper headspace to exercise can assist us in establishing the connection between our mind and muscles, says Hodges. The mind-muscle connection is the idea that you could aid your muscles to work better during workouts simply by focusing on the muscles you’re engaging as you move. If, for instance, you’ve got a good mind-muscle connection during your planking, it is possible to ensure that you’re working your entire core instead of putting too much pressure on your shoulders or your low back.
To ensure that your warm-up stimulates your brain and not only your body, you should also spend some time during your warm-up breathing deeply and imagining the movements you’re planning to perform during your workout, says Hamilton. If, for instance, you’re going to yoga class, picture yourself laying down on your mat, bouncing through a series of postures before ending your class in a relaxed state. This mental aspect of warming up might appear straightforward, but it will be a huge help to get you into the optimal state of mind to enjoy great exercise. “Warming up helps your body and mind to be more connected,” Scantlebury explains.
You’ll have a lot of fun doing your workout.
As we’ve said, one of the major benefits of warm-ups is they aid in getting you into the right mindset to work out effectively. When that happens, it’s more likely that you’ll enjoy your workout (rather than spending the entire time thinking about the 10th Zoom appointment of the week or worrying about the next deadline). Furthermore, your workout is more enjoyable when you slowly increase the intensity by an effective warm-up instead of, for instance, doing 400-meter repetitions cold…in which case you’ll probably be feeling pretty miserable and wish to stop the workout immediately.
A positive experience during your workout will increase your chances to get a sweat on again and again, which is crucial for those who want to stay fit to last for a long time.