| #5. Warming Up The Muscles
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After mobilising all the joints, it is imperative to warm up the
muscles before you do any strenuous exercise. The harder the workout,
the harder the intensity of the warm-up you should be doing.
Why do we warm up?
By raising the body temperature gradually, warm-up activities provide
various physiological benefits. These are:
- Raises your core body temperature, which causes vasodilatation
(widening of the blood vessels). This increases the blood supply
and provides more oxygen to your tissues and working muscles.
- Your muscles and other connective tissues contract, relax and
stretch more readily when they are warm.
- Metabolic activity in your muscle tissue is stimulated.
- The viscosity within your muscles is reduced, which allows smoother
and more efficient contractions with less resistance.
- Your muscles are able to exert greater power under sub-maximal
loads.
- Your nervous impulses travel more rapidly. This applies to motor
and sensory nervous pathways, improving general proprioceptive
activity.
- The response of your heart to more strenuous exercise is improved
significantly.
- Mental preparation is an important factor in the warm-up or
rehearsal effect.
Start with the general mobility exercise to loosen off all the joints
from head to toe as normal.
Now you want to carry out some cardio-vascular exercise at a slower
than normal pace gradually increasing the intensity. Types of cardio
you could do are jogging, skipping, rowing, cycling, step machine
etc.
If you're going to do a resistance (weights etc) session, your first
set should be carried out with light weights.
COME ON!
- Here's your chance to put the mobility routine together with
your warm-up.
- Put your favourite upbeat music on if appropriate and get stuck
in.
- Mobility should take about 5 minutes and warm-up about 10 minutes.
Come on then, let's raise that pulse and get out of breath!
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