Why Warm Up?

Warm ups

TGIF With Fitness2love

Do you warm up?? What would you consider a warm up?
The purpose of a warm up is to "wake up" the body in order to gain full potential of your workout. I will admit I do not warm up every day. I usually do not warm up when I am weight training. However, I do warm up when I run. I usually walk for 5 min before starting my run. I need to start warming up before my workouts. :) and so should everyone else. Here are my personally trainer notes on warm ups.

Benefits of warming up
Increased electrical activity and limit strength of the muscles.
More contractions of the muscles during your workout


Better forced accepted by the connective tissue
Less risk in injuries
Mental readiness for physical activity
Increased in blood flow


Dr. Melvin Williams’ book, Ergogenic Aids in Sport (Human Kinetic Publishers, 1983).Dr. B. Don Franks, a sports physiologist findings

According to franks finding Warm ups are not necessary for all sports-----
" explosive types of sports such as power lifting benefit from warming up.
progressive type sports or endurance events do not benefit from warming up, because of fatigue.
Direct warm-ups (exercise directly related or the same as the sport) of moderate intensity and duration prior to explosive sports enhance performance, but not necessarily for untrained people.
Indirect warm-ups (exercise not directly related to the sport) often can aid performance, as can bicycling for 4 to 5 minutes and/or flexibility (stretching) exercises.Heavy, non-related warm-ups interfere with one’s ability to perform sports skills requiring careful control." (The Complete Guide To Fitness)

Keep your warm ups easy and simple. You do not want to feel fatigued after a warm up.

How to warm up ....all depends on what your fitness goals are. Follow my blog for a future post on ...how to warm up! I'll be posting examples/ warm up ideas that will benefit each fitness goal.

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