We've all been there - you're pressed for time, you finally made time to head to the gym, and you are ready to get your lift in. But before you dive headfirst into your workout, there's one crucial step you can't afford to bypass - the warm up.
Although warming up seems like a hassle, especially when you are feeling enthusiastic and raring to go, but skipping this essential preparatory phase is one of the biggest mistakes some people make before training. A proper warm-up does so much more than just slightly elevating your body temperature. It's a vital investment in your safety, performance and long-term fitness gains.
Still not convinced? Let us break it down for you with seven, science-backed reasons why warming up beforehand is non-negotiable:
Injury Prevention
Jumping into intense exercise with cold, tight muscles is basically issuing an invitation for strains, sprains and tears. A warm-up gradually increases your muscle temperature, boosting elastic properties to better absorb the forces of exercise. It's like doing a pre-flight safety check before takeoff.
Improved Circulation
During your warm up, your heart starts pumping harder and faster, driving nutrient-rich blood towards your muscles. This increased circulation ensures your working muscles receive maximum oxygen and fuel for explosive power output.
Greater Flexibility
Sure, static stretching alone won't cut it, but dynamic stretches and mobility drills give your muscles, tendons and joints a bigger range of motion to move through. The better you can move, the better you can groove during lifts, cuts, jumps and sprints. Be sure to focus on dynamic stretching before you workout and save the static stretching for the cool-down. Warming up cold muscles can cause you to pull or strain a muscle.
Less Muscle Soreness
Warm muscles are happy muscles. Taking a few minutes to warm up can drastically reduce pesky delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) which often follows intense training sessions. It is no fun feeling overly sore the next day. Your soreness should be a good kind-of sore, not the type that prevents you from walking up the steps the next day.
Mental Preparation
Physical preparation is only half the battle - did you know that warming up also ignites your neuromuscular system and kick-starts coordination between your mind and muscles. You'll feel sharper, more focused and ready to attack your workout with purpose.
Muscle Activation Static stretches alone can actually temporarily decrease muscle strength and power output. Dynamic exercises like planks, bodyweight lunges, and arm circles wake up and reinforce critical movement patterns you'll rely on during training.
Increases Core Temperature
When your core temperature rises by a just a couple degrees, you burn fuel more efficiently while boosting muscle contractility and energy production.
The best part? An effective warm-up doesn't require taking an entire chunk out of your day. We're talking a brisk 5 - 10 minute routine to check all the boxes. Some of our favorite, go-to moves include plank walkouts (awakens the entire body), cat-cow stretches (pumps mobility into the spine), walking or the elliptical machine (increases core temperature) and lateral lunges to fire up the lower body.
At the end of the day, only 5 - 10 minutes of warming up the body is worth decreasing the risk of of injury or avoiding setting you up for sub-par workout. Your warm-up might seem daunting in the moment, but it pays massive dividends both short- and long-term. Make it a non-negotiable part of your pre-training routine and we guarantee you'll move better, feel better and ultimately get more out of every single workout. If you are not sure where to begin, reaching out to one of our partner trainers for one-on-one guidance will help!
If you invest in yourself from the get-go, you will keep progressing toward your fitness goals day after day, week after week and so on. What are you waiting for? Snatch up your foam roller, lace up your sneakers and go!
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