Benefits of a Proper Warm-up

The sport of running is a unique blending of spiritual, physical, environmental and mental challenges. It is both a sport and an experience. One often overlooked ingredient that is vital to success in this demanding activity is a proper warm-up routine. A proper warm-up prepares you to fully utilize your physical, neurological and psychological capabilities. The muscular system must be properly prepared and so the temperature of the muscles must be elevated in order for them to work with optimal efficiency. The circulatory system must be properly stimulated in order for the most efficient transfer of oxygen and carbon dioxide. The working muscles must be saturated with as much oxygen rich blood as possible prior to running. In addition, the body's cooling system must be elevated to its most efficient level. In my opinion, all this cannot happen without a structured warm-up. The neurological system must be prepared in order for the proper laying down of the technical neural patterns required for efficient running. With proper and consistant warm-up the correct neural reflexes will be programmed. This will allow you to rely on proper conditioned reflexes for efficient movement. This also helps to allow for proper running rhythm. The warm-up must also prepare you for the psychological demands of training and racing. I believe you must have some sort of structured warm-up procedure that gradually increases your focus until a total relaxed concentration is reached. In closing,without optimal preparation of the physical, mental and neurological systems its impossible to expect optimal performance in training or competition.What are the Benefits of Warming Up?

A warm-up helps you prepare both mentally and physically for exercise, and reduces the chance of injury. During a warm-up, any injury or illness you have can often be recognized, and further injury prevented. Other benefits of a proper warm up include: -Increased movement of blood through your tissues, making the muscles more pliable. -Increased delivery of oxygen and nutrients to your muscles. This prevents you from getting out of breath early or too easily. -Prepares your muscles for stretching -Prepares your heart for an increase in activity, preventing a rapid increase in blood pressure -Prepares you mentally for the upcoming exercise -Primes your nerve-to-muscle pathways to be ready for exercise -Improves coordination and reaction times

Benefits of a Proper Warm Up: -Increased Muscle Temperature - The temperature increases within muscles that are used during a warm-up routine. A warmed muscle both contracts more forcefully and relaxes more quickly. In this way both speed and strength can be enhanced. Also, the probability of overstretching a muscle and causing injury is far less. -Increased Body Temperature - This improves muscle elasticity, also reducing the risk of strains and pulls. -Blood Vessels Dilate - This reduces the resistance to blood flow and lower stress on the heart. -Improve Efficient Cooling - By activating the heat-dissipation mechanisms in the body (efficient sweating) an athlete can cool efficiently and help prevent overheating early in the event or race. -Increased Blood Temperature - The temperature of blood increases as it travels through the muscles, and as blood temperature rises, the amount of oxygen it can hold becomes reduced. This means a slightly greater volume of oxygen is made available to the working muscles, enhancing endurance and performance. -Improved Range of Motion - The range of motion around a joint is increased. -Hormonal Changes - Your body increases its production of various hormones responsible for regulating energy production. During warm-up this balance of hormones makes more carbohydrates and fatty acids available for energy production. -Mental Preparation - The warm-up is also a good time to mentally prepare for an event by clearing the mind, increasing focus, reviewing skills and strategy. Positive imagery can also relax the athlete and build concentration.Typical Warm up exercises include: -Gradually increasing the intensity of your specific sport. This uses the specific skills of a sport and is sometimes called a related warm-up. For runners, the idea is to jog a while and add a few sprints into the routine to engage all the muscle fibers. -Adding movements not related to your sport in a slow steady manner: calisthenics or flexibility exercises for example. Ball players often use unrelated exercise for their warm up. -Which to choose? The best time to stretch a muscle is after it has an increased blood flow and has increased temperature to avoid injury. Stretching a cold muscle can increase the risk of injury from pulls and tears. So you are better off doing gradual aerobic exercise before stretching. Keep in mind that the best time to stretch is after exercise because your muscles are warm and pliable with the increase of blood in them.Make sure your warm up begins gradually, and uses the muscles that will be stressed during exercise.

-Keep in mind that the perfect warm up is a very individual process that can only come with practice, experimentation and experience. Try warming up in various way, at various intensities until you find what works best for you.Running on a treadmill can have its benefits, such as protection from the elements and unsafe running conditions. But when you take your runs indoors, you need to make sure that you're running properly on the treadmill so you can avoid injuries and get the most out of your treadmill runs. Here are some of the most common treadmill running mistakes, starting with not warming up or cooling down:

It's tempting to jump on the treadmill, increase the incline or pace setting to your desired levels and get going. But, just like with outdoor running, it's important that you warm-up before getting into the more challenging part of your run.

If you've ever felt a little dizzy after you took that first step off the treadmill, it's most likely because you didn't cool down at the end of your run. You may feel like jumping off the treadmill as soon as the timer hits your goal time for your run. But stopping suddenly can cause light-headedness because your heart rate and blood pressure drop rapidly. Winding down slowly allows them to fall gradually. After you finish your run, make sure you cool down by walking or slowly jogging for 5 to 10 minutes before you step off the treadmill.

If you've made it to this part of your workout, you've already achieved success, having dealt with the mental obstacles that stand in the way of your workout. The warm up is your chance to focus on the physical...namely, getting your body ready for the workout to come. For this reason, the warm up is an essential part of your workout, not just for your body, but for your mind. Warming up is important for a number of reasons including: * It warms the muscles and increases body temperature, which improves the oxygen supply to the body * It helps increase blood flow to the muscles, allowing them to contract and relax more quickly * It helps prepare the body and the mind for more strenuous activity * It may help reduce the risk of injury * It may increase overall exercise performance * It increases the elasticity of the ligaments, tendons and other connective tissues

There are different ways to warm up and they're often classified into three categories: passive, general and specific. With passive warm ups, you raise the body's temperature by doing things like sitting in a hot tub or taking a hot shower. General warm ups involve increasing the heart rate and body temperature by just moving the body around. Specific warm ups mean you do similar movements to the exercises you'll be doing. Any of these can work and what you choose will

often depend on what type of exercise you're doing. Passive warm ups (like taking a hot bath) can be a good choice for gentle activities such as stretching or yoga workouts. For other types of workouts, you may want to choose more specific activities. Warm ups for Cardio Workouts. For cardio workouts, it's best to stick with lighter versions of the exercise you'll be doing. For example, if you're running, you might start with a few minutes of light walking, move into a slow jog and then into the workout. If you're doing an aerobics workout, you might start with low-impact moves (step-touches, grapevines, marching in place, etc.) before you move on to more vigorous activities. Warm ups for Strength Training. For strength workouts, you can either do a general warm up (e.g., do a few minutes of light cardio) or a specific warm up where you do warm up sets for each exercise. In that case, you might do one set of the coming exercise with lighter weights before you reach for the heavier weights.Whatever type of warm up you choose, use the following tips for getting the most of your warm up: * Warm up for about 5-10 minutes. How long you warm up will often depend on what you're doing and how much time you need to transition into exercise. For example, if you're working out on a cold day or doing a very hard workout, you may need 10 or more minutes to warm up. If you're doing a light workout or you're already warm from doing other activities, you may need just a few minutes. * Stretch if you need it. There's some controversery over whether to stretch before or after your workout. I often recommend that my clients do the bulk of their stretching after the cool down. But, if you have chronically tight muscles (like your lower back or hips) doing a few stretches beforehand may make your workout more comfortable. * Take your time. The idea is to warm up gradually. Allowing your heart rate and respiration to increase slowly will make the transition into your workout easier and give your body time to prepare for what's to come.

Musculosceletal System

Physiology

Name : Nur Fitriyani FaridinStudent number : C 111 09 787

Group : B 6Assistant:

Medical FacultyHasanuddin University

2010