Warming up

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Players of Legends Football League do a warm-up exercise, US Training of Seattle Mist Lingerie Football 0154.jpg
Players of Legends Football League do a warm-up exercise, US

'Warming up' is a part of stretching and preparation for physical exertion or a performance by exercising or practicing gently beforehand, usually undertaken before a performance or practice. Athletes, singers, actors and others warm up before stressing their muscles. It is widely believed to prepare the muscles for vigorous actions and to prevent muscle cramps and injury due to overexertion.

Contents

Exercise

Swimmers perform squats prior to entering the pool in a U.S. military base, 2011 Participants with the Water Warrior class perform squats prior to entering the pool at Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan, July 6, 2011 110706-M-VD776-004 (cropped).jpg
Swimmers perform squats prior to entering the pool in a U.S. military base, 2011
Steven Gerrard warming up prior to a football match in 2010. Steven Gerrard 2010.jpg
Steven Gerrard warming up prior to a football match in 2010.

A warm-up generally consists of a gradual increase in intensity in physical activity (a "pulse raiser"), joint mobility exercise, and stretching, followed by the activity. For example, before running or playing an intensive sport, athletes might slowly jog to warm their muscles and increase their heart rate. It is important that warm-ups be specific to the activity, so that the muscles to be used are activated. The risks and benefits of combining stretching with warming up are disputable, although it is generally believed that warming up prepares the athlete both mentally and physically.

Stretching

A group of High School girls performing a ballistic stretch in a Physical Education session SMATrinitasGymnastic2.JPG
A group of High School girls performing a ballistic stretch in a Physical Education session

Stretching is part of some warm-up routines, although a study in 2013 indicates that it weakens muscles in that situation. [1] There are 2 types of stretches: static and dynamic:

Warming up in other contexts

Psychologists, educators, singers, and similar professionals use warm-ups in therapeutic or learning sessions before starting or after a break; these warm-ups can include vocal and physical exercises, interactive and improvisational games, role plays, etc. A vocal warm-up can be especially important for actors and singers.

Benefits

Preventing injury

There is contradictory evidence in terms of benefits of comprehensive warm-ups for preventing injury in football (soccer) players, with some studies showing some benefit [4] while other showing no benefit. [5] It has been suggested that it is specifically warm ups aimed at increasing body temperature, rather than targeting stretching, which can prevent injury. [6]

Increasing performance

In baseball, warm-up swings using a standard weight bat are effective in increasing batting speed. [7] In a 2010 meta-analysis, the authors concluded that in about four-fifths of the studies there was improvement in performance with various physical activities with warm-ups as opposed to without warm-ups. [8] An increase in body temperature, specifically in the muscles, improves explosive skeletal muscle performance (e.g., jumping and sprinting). [9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Stretching before workout may weaken muscles, impair athletes: studies". Nationalpost. National Post . Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  2. Reynolds, Gretchen (2008-10-31). "Stretching: The Truth". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  3. Rössler, Roland; Junge, Astrid; Bizzini, Mario; Verhagen, Evert; Chomiak, Jiri; aus der Fünten, Karen; Meyer, Tim; Dvorak, Jiri; Lichtenstein, Eric; Beaudouin, Florian; Faude, Oliver (22 December 2017). "A Multinational Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial to Assess the Efficacy of '11+ Kids': A Warm-Up Programme to Prevent Injuries in Children's Football". Sports Medicine. 48 (6): 1493–1504. doi:10.1007/s40279-017-0834-8. PMC   5948238 . PMID   29273936.
  4. Daneshjoo A, Mokhtar AH, Rahnama N, Yusof A (2012). "The effects of injury preventive warm-up programs on knee strength ratio in young male professional soccer players". PLOS ONE. 7 (12): e50979. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...750979D. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0050979 . PMC   3513304 . PMID   23226553.
  5. Soligard T, Myklebust G, Steffen K, et al. (2008). "Comprehensive warm-up programme to prevent injuries in young female footballers: cluster randomised controlled trial". BMJ. 337: a2469. doi:10.1136/bmj.a2469. PMC   2600961 . PMID   19066253.
  6. Aj, Fradkin; Bj, Gabbe; Pa, Cameron (June 2006). "Does warming up prevent injury in sport? The evidence from randomised controlled trials?". Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. 9 (3): 214–220. doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2006.03.026. PMID   16679062.
  7. McCrary, J Matt (February 2015). "A systematic review of the effects of upper body warm-up on performance and injury". British Journal of Sports Medicine. 49 (14): 935–942. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2014-094228 . PMID   25694615.
  8. Aj, Fradkin; Tr, Zazryn; Jm, Smoliga (January 2010). "Effects of warming-up on physical performance: a systematic review with meta-analysis". Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 24 (1): 140–148. doi:10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181c643a0. hdl: 11323/5596 . PMID   19996770. S2CID   29414183.
  9. Racinais, Sébastien; Cocking, Scott; Périard, Julien D. (2017-08-04). "Sports and environmental temperature: From warming-up to heating-up". Temperature: Multidisciplinary Biomedical Journal. 4 (3): 227–257. doi:10.1080/23328940.2017.1356427. ISSN   2332-8940. PMC   5605167 . PMID   28944269.