Maybe the warm-up is not the most exciting part of a workout. But it is also 100% necessary.
Here’s why your coaches are careful to incorporate a comprehensive warmup:
- It primes your nervous and cardiovascular systems for work. This prevents a too-quick rise in blood pressure and helps ease you into the work phase. It also delivers blood (read: oxygen and nutrients) to your muscles, which ensures that you are performing at your best.
- It raises your body temperature. Not only can this increase your performance but working at a slightly higher core temperature can burn more calories.
- It increases the elasticity of your muscles. This helps prevent injury.
- It increases range of motion in your joints. This also helps prevent injury.
As tempting as it is to snooze for 5 more minutes or check a few more messages on your phone before you walk into the gym, skipping the warm-up can lead to injury and decreased performance, which will be detrimental to your fitness in the long term.
And speaking of the ENTIRE workout… Again, it is tempting to hustle out of a workout without stretching or cooling down, but this is another step that should not be missed. Why?
- Restore heart and breathing rates to baseline
- Gradually cools body temperature
- Prevent muscles from becoming overly tight and sore; prevents injury
- Prevent pooling of blood in the lower extremities
This is another step toward preventing injury and optimizing your performance in your workouts, as well as keeping your cardiovascular system safe and healthy. So be sure you are taking a few minutes post-workout to cool down!
So be sure to make the most out of your ENTIRE workout – from start to finish!
See you in the gym,
Coach Christy
