Warm-Ups: What’s Actually Important

Have you ever noticed that there are so many opinions on warm-ups? We wonder… Do I need to warm-up? How long? What should I be doing?  

There is no perfect answer but adding these following strategies can provide positive results for your physical activity or workout.

First, warm-ups don’t have to be elaborate in order to be effective.

A simple 4-minute warm-up consisting of jogging and stretching has been proven to increase joint position appreciation, which increases the sensitivity around the joint. With an improved sense of joint position
(proprioception), movement patterns can be more effective which can result in greater efficiency and potentially less injuries. 

Resistance exercises are traditionally thought of as a method to address weakness in a certain area.

However, in a warm-up application they can affect muscle firing timing, proprioception, and neuromuscular control (coordination). Additionally, resistance exercises are a great way to increase body temperature and blood flow to working muscles without creating too much demand on the cardiovascular system. All of these factors allow your body to be more effectively primed for your workout. 

Traditionally, stretching and foam rolling have largely been encouraged in warming up, but they’ve actually been shown to not be beneficial for this purpose.

Several studies have show that stretching can impair performance by decreasing muscle force production, elasticity, and heat production. Therefore, contrary to popular belief stretching and foam rolling should not be included in your warm-up.