Planning to kick-start your spring training season? Training on a regular basis but unsure if you are doing the exercises the right way? Focus on your warm-up – it should be the most important part of any workout, no matter how long you have been training or how much time you have for the session.
1. Start by invigorating the whole body
If you want your training to be effective, you need to warm up your whole body first. Your muscles, tendons and joints require appropriate preparation that activates them for physical exertion and enables them to withstand possible overload. You need to warm up every part of your body – literally! Do some leg lunges, arm swings, torso twists and head circles, and warm up your wrists and knees. This way you will improve flexibility and increase the blood flow throughout the body, raise the body temperature, and minimize the risk of possible injuries, as well as prepare your body for strenuous effort.
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1. Zacznij od pobudzenia całego ciała
Jeśli chcesz, aby Twój trening był efektywny, musisz najpierw rozgrzać całe ciało. Mięśnie, ścięgna i stawy potrzebują odpowiedniego przygotowania, by zaktywizować się do intensywnej pracy i wytrzymać ewentualne przeciążenia. Rozgrzej każdą część swojego ciała – dosłownie! Wykonaj wypady nóg, wymachy rąk, skręty tułowia, krążenia głowy, rozgrzej nadgarstki i kolana. Poprawisz w ten sposób elastyczność i ukrwienie ciała, podniesiesz jego temperaturę i zminimalizujesz ryzyko ewentualnych urazów, a także przygotujesz organizm do długiego i intensywnego wysiłku.
2. Adjust your warm-up to your training
Remember that each sport discipline involves moving your body in a slightly different way. For this reason, your warm-up should have two stages. Depending on whether you are getting ready for a running training, strength training, or a spinning session, you need to adapt the series of exercises to the challenge your body will be facing for the next several dozen minutes. Focus on the muscles that are going to be most involved during your training. It is essential that your warm-up incorporates
exercises that mimic movements specific to the sport you are about to do.
3. Rev up your body
Start your warm-up at a slow pace and gradually increase your heart rate. Do not jump or skip vigorously or run fast right from the start. Instead, slowly get your body used to elevated energy expenditure.
4. Focus
Don’t make the basic mistake of underestimating your warm-up. Many people pay little attention to the exercises it consists of and want to move on to proper training as soon as possible. If you want your warm-up to be effective, you need to focus on every single move. Deepen the exercises you perform, increasing the range of motion, and concentrate on activating individual muscles so as to take full control of your body.
5. Take your time
A proper warm-up should be nothing like a marathon. In this case time really matters and determines how well your body is prepared for exertion, which translates into the effectiveness of your training later on. It is recommended that a warm-up should take around 15 minutes, and no longer than 30 minutes. According to researchers from the University of Calgary Human Performance Laboratory in Alberta, Canada, a 15-minute warm-up proves to be the most effective in terms of improving exercise capacity, and especially anaerobic performance.
There is no doubt that this quarter of an hour determines not only the condition of your body, but also the results of your training. Make the best use of it!