It does not matter whether you are in a football association, are a runner or if you are moving and have to lift boxes. A warming up is very important. But why do we actually have to do a warming up?

A warm up prepares your body for an upcoming activity such as running, jumping or lifting.

A warm up has 4 important functions, namely:
With a warm up you ensure that your heart rate slowly increases and your heart starts pumping faster. This causes the blood to flow faster through your blood vessels and the oxygen in the blood goes to your muscles. Muscles with good blood flow function better and are less vulnerable to injuries such as overloads and tears.
With a warming up, the airways widen, allowing more oxygen to be absorbed.
With a warming up, the body temperature also rises, causing an accelerated metabolism.
With a warming up, the brain also receives the signal that an activity is about to occur and so that the brain functions adapt from rest to exercise.

Now you know why you should warm up, but how do you warm up? A warm up consists of 3 parts.

A general warming up
A stretch warming up
A sport specific warming up

A general warming up consists mainly of "the name says it all" general movements. You can do this by making light movements with the arms, legs, neck and trunk. During a general warming up you can jog a bit. Of course you do this in a calm way. General warming aims to improve blood circulation in the body in general. Usually this takes about 5-10 minutes.

You do a stretch warming up after your general warming up. By stretching your muscles you ensure that the blood flow improves even further and that there is a greater range of motion of the muscles that you stretch. A stretch usually takes about 10-15 seconds per series and can be done 4 times per muscle. 

You do a sport specific warming up after the stretch warm up. The name says it all; it is sport specific. So you will start imitating movements that you will use in your activity. If you are a football player, you will train with the football. If you have to lift, you will make lifting movements.

what is a cooling down?

Now you know what a warming up is, but what is a cooling down? A cooling down is the opposite of a warming up. You do this at the end of your workout to bring your body back to rest. The purpose of a cool down is to prevent tired, tense and stiff muscles.

A cooling down often consists of walking or cycling, gentle stretching exercises such as warming up and alternating between hot and cold showers.

Any questions of feedback? Message me.

Kind regards,

Sascha Bargi BSc PT. & MSc Ost. in training