Author, Mikayla Leuer, is an Intern at Elevate Performance. She will receive her Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science in May and will complete her Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist training in April.

As you are preparing for physical exercise, is it important to transition your body from resting to active state. A safe warm-up can consist of a number of components with the intent of warming the muscle tissues and associated body structures for work. These should include:

Dynamic Stretching
Rhythmical Range of Motion
Cardiovascular Exercise

These components make up a thermal muscle warm-up, or the increase in temperature of working muscles as heat is produced from movement. It is important to warm up slowly and progress gradually, as there are many important physiological changes that take place in the body as the muscles warm.

First, the higher temperatures created causes opening of the blood vessels, increasing blood flow and gradual blood flow to the heart muscle. This makes it more effective for blood to travel to the working muscles and decrease risk of abnormal heart activity associated with sudden exercise. Along with increased blood flow comes increased oxygen and nutrient levels to fuel exercise and remove metabolic by-products. Also at higher temperatures, nerve impulses travel faster.

Performance
For activities that engage coordination, warm up is essential to adequate reaction time and agility. Because warm muscles are able to function faster and produce more force, a warm-up also allows for increased performance during exercise. This is due to the decreased thickness of the muscle protoplasm, the liquid mixture surrounding the muscle cell nuclei, allowing the protein filaments that make up these cells to contract easily without high resistance levels. The body also distributes lubrication around joints more efficiently for easier movement and greater range of motion. While there are numerous physiological benefits that a warm-up can translate to exercise to improve performance and overall health, warming up can ultimately reduce the risk of injury. The increased elasticity of muscle tissue resulting from a warm-up routine can minimize the risk of straining or tearing connective structures in the body.

What Type of Warm-Up Should I Do?
A warm-up routine should be consistent with the type of exercise that will be performed and should include dynamic stretching and some kind of exercise to elevate the heart rate. Dynamic stretching incorporates whole body, fluid, and controlled movements, or moving a joint through its range of motion without stopping at its endpoint. It is important to choose not only exercises that include whole body movements, but also dynamic exercises that directly relate to the sport or exercise that you are preparing for.

According to a study from the National Academy of Sports Medicine, an effective warm-up should be able to generate a light sweat within 5-10 minutes and elevate resting heart rates of 50-75 bpm to 90-120 bpm before beginning more intense exercise. Performed at longer durations, dynamic stretching can elevate the heart rate to the target beats per minute, or other cardiovascular exercise such as sprinting, biking, or rowing can be incorporated into the warm-up.

While every warm-up should progress gradually, certain populations such as beginning exercisers, older or overweight individuals, pregnant women, and those with adverse health issues may need a more gradual warm-up and should first consult their doctor with any concerns. When performed knowledgeably and safely, a warm-up can be widely beneficial to overall health, performance, and injury prevention.

About the Author
Hi everyone! My name is Mikayla Leuer, most people call me Kayla. I am originally from Sioux City, Iowa but have been living in Vermillion, SD for the past four years completing my undergraduate degree in Exercise Science. I just moved to Rapid City in January to finish my degree with an internship at Elevate. I plan to go to PT school in the near future, and want to thank everyone for making this such a positive learning experience for me. I am passionate about the importance of exercise and nutrition and expanding my own knowledge on these topics to educate others. One of the things I have done research on in my undergraduate career is the importance of warming your body up before exercise, so I thought I would share it with all of you!

Why Is a Warm-Up So Important?