Why a warm-up before your workout and cool-down after goes a long way in staying fit.
What’s a warm-up?
A warm-up is quite simply a way of preparing your body for a workout, and is imperative in preventing any sports-related injury or stiff. Most athletes perform some sort of warm-up before their main exercise and whether a professional sportsperson or simply a fitness enthusiast, making warm-up a part of your routine is always a good idea.
Benefits of a good warm-up
A good warm-up is a way of gradually increasing your physical activity and blood flow to the working muscle in order to improve performance, reduce risk of injury and decrease stiffness. Other benefits include:
- Increases the temperature of the muscle – A warmed muscle works out better and also relaxes rapidly. This way, you’re getting more out of your exercise, along with protecting the muscle from injury.
- Improves the range of motion – The adjoining range or motion around a joint increases, thus resulting in a more productive workout.
- Increased body and blood temperature – Increased body temperature makes muscle elasticity better, while increased blood temperature can help improve stamina.
- When the heart rate increases, it puts you in a better position to start on more intense exercises.
- Enhances normal bodily functions like respiration and circulation, thus preparing the body for enhanced physical activity.
- A warm-up is not just a physical exercise; it is also a great mental exercise and rejuvenates the mind along with the body. It also helps to prepare you mentally to focus on the workout that lies ahead.
Time to cool-down!
Also sometimes referred to as warming down, a cool-down allows an exercised body to gradually come down from a state of exertion to a resting state. The type of cool-down you choose to do depends on how strenuous your exercise was. Either ways, it’s a must to spend a few minutes cooling down after your workout.
Benefits of cooling down
- Reduces the chance of cramps and stiffness, by removing lactic acid. Lactate is produced at a higher rate, during certain intense and power exercises like sprinting.
- Allows the heart rate to come back to its resting rate. The decline in heart rate reduces stress on the heart.
- Reduces the chance of dizziness or fainting.
- The adrenalin levels in the blood are also reduced.
While exercise is essential to healthy living, remember to always do it responsibly and in conjunction with your capacity and current fitness levels, using the right techniques and taking care to not injure yourself. Start with a warm-up, take the necessary precautions while using equipment and end with a cool-down.
Photograph by Ramasamy Chidambaram, via sxc.hu
