This is something I used to ignore myself for a lot of years. I would just go straight for a run or play a game of football with very little, if not any warm up and once I was done that was me. Over time I started to pick up small muscle injuries because I would feel a lot of muscle tightness and so I started to realise that I needed to incorporate a warm up and cool down if I was going to try to reduce my risk of injury.
Now after a number of years training clients and being in the fitness industry I would make sure that a warm up and cool down are part of not only my workouts but all my clients' workouts as they are vital to reducing the risk of injury and also help develop mobility. Unfortunately some fitness ‘professionals’ continue to leave them out or not realise the full benefits of an effective warm up and cool down.
Warm up:
A warm up should gradually increase in intensity and last 5-10 minutes. It can begin with a light pulse raising activity such as a jog or running on the spot to increase heart rate and get blood flow increased to the working muscles. Next the main muscles that are going to be used in activity should be targeted through dynamic stretching. Dynamic stretching simply means stretches that involve movement (not a static stretch!). Perform 8-10 reps of each stretch.
Cool down:
A cool down should gradually decrease in intensity and bring the heart rate gradually back down to resting levels. It should again last 5-10 minutes. A cool down begins with some light jogging and then gradually brings the speed down every minute or 2 until you are walking. This helps disperse any lactic acid and promote muscle recovery. Static stretching should be used in the cool down. This involves no movement and is used in the cool down to promote muscle recovery but also improve flexibility and range of movement.
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