The importance of warming up and cooling down
Warming up and cooling down is important to assist your body in preparing or recovering from aerobic activity allowing you to perform at your best, as well as reducing your risk of injury.
Warm up
Done correctly a warm up ensures your muscles are prepared for your upcoming activity through some low-intensity aerobic exercise, activity specific drills and stretching. It should also dilate your blood through, increasing the blood flow to your muscles and making sure they are well-supplied with oxygen.
The benefits of warming up include:
- Increased breathing rate
- Increased body temperature
- Increased blood flow to your muscles
- Reduced muscle soreness
- Reduced the risk of injury
- Reduced strain on your cardiovascular system
- Improved muscular contraction and relaxation
- Improved oxygen efficiency
- Improved athletic performance
One important element to consider is that female athletes have a higher risk of non-contact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries compared to male athletes. This highlights the importance of completing an effective warm up as it is a recommended component that goes into ACL prevention.
How do you effectively warm up?
Before aerobic activity the purpose of the warm up is to increase your heart rate slowly with movements starting at a low intensity, increasing in intensity. Dynamic sport-specific movements are particularly effective as they prepare your body for the upcoming movements of your activity. Alternatively, warm ups prior to resistance training should focus on increasing blood flow to the group of muscles you plan on working on in your upcoming session.
Cool down
On the other hand, a cool down starts the recovery process and allows your blood pressure, body temperature and heart rate to gradually return to their normal levels. Keeping your blood circulating prevents it from pooling in your veins, aiding oxygen delivery to your muscles for faster recovery.
The benefits of cooling down include:
- Prevention of dizziness
- Prevention of muscular cramps
- Reduced breathing rate
- Reduced Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)
- Improved range of motion
- Relaxation and lengthening of your muscles
How do you effectively cool down?
An effective cool down is approximately five to ten minutes long through a sequence of slow movements such as walking or stretching.
While the relationship between stretching and injury prevention is often debated, evidence suggests that static stretching can be effective when cooling down. To be effective static stretching requires you to stretch you muscle as far as you can without pain, holding it for between 10 to 30 seconds.
Static stretching elongates the connective tissue around your joints, increasing your flexibility and improving your range of motion. Stretching your muscles while they’re warm can also decrease your chance of muscle stiffness or cramps. It does so by reducing the amount of lactic acid and other by-products built up within your muscles during exercise.
Research has suggested that cooling down is especially important for competitive endurance athletes as it helps regulating blood flow.
