Why Invest Your Time Warming-Up And Doing Stretching And Mobility Exercises? - Part 1B
© Clive Maxwell Prestt
IS A WARM-UP NEEDED BEFORE YOU DO THE STRETCHING EXERCISES?
If you have time, yes, go through a full warm-up routine with all the other activities involved in it before you come to the part in which stretching is involved so as to get your muscles warm before stretching. However, stretching by itself is not warming up! It is, however, a very important part of warming up. If you only have five minutes to spare, then stretching alone is much better than nothing at all before you do your main activity - run, play soccer, rugby ... etc
Warming up is quite literally the process of "warming up" (i.e., raising your core body temperature). A proper warm-up should raise your body temperature by one or two degrees Celsius (1.4 to 2.8 degrees Fahrenheit) and is divided into three phases:
1. general warm-up
2. stretching
3. sport-specific activity
It is very important that you perform the general warm-up before you stretch. It is not a good idea to attempt to stretch before your muscles are warm (something which the general warm-up accomplishes).
As I have been driving at throughout this article, warming up can do more than just loosen stiff muscles. When it is done properly, stretching can actually improve performance. On the other hand, an improper warm-up, or no warm-up at all, can greatly increase your risk of injury from engaging in athletic activities.
GENERAL WARM-UP
This section is for all sports people. After this, there is a specific warming-up routine for long-distance runners. The general warm-up is divided into two parts:
1. joint rotations
2. aerobic activity
These two activities should be performed in the order specified above.
1. Joint Rotations
Focus Question: Why is synovial fluid important?
The general warm-up should begin with joint-rotations, starting either from your toes and working your way up, or from your fingers and working your way down. This facilitates joint motion by lubricating the entire joint with synovial fluid. Such lubrication permits your joints to function more easily when called upon to participate in your athletic activity. You should perform slow circular movements, both clockwise and counter-clockwise, until the joint seems to move smoothly. You should rotate the following (in the order given, or in the reverse order):
I will be giving specific exercises in my second article on stretching to be published by the end of January 2003. Here I want you to understand that stretching itself is not a warm-up but part of a warm-up routine which includes several other things.
