Introduction
In my previous articles on 'Stretching Exercises Parts 1A and 1B' I talked long on the static stretching exercises and their place in a warm up routine, but short on the warm up routine's joint rotation exercises - as you now know this is one part of the warm up routine. This was caused by lack of time to draw these warm up exercises' diagrams on the computer. I am now pleased not only to present these diagrams, but also extend the thinking behind them to the oriental exercise scheme of 'Ti Chi', as well as present the warm up exercises from Ti Chi as an alternative routine to the Western Hemisphere warm up exercises.
To understand how these exercises fit in to your sport, you need to have read the article ' 'Why Invest Your Time Warming-Up And Doing Stretching And Mobility Exercises? - Part 1' whose link is:
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/1662...
and also 'Why Invest Your Time Warming-Up And Doing Stretching And Mobility Exercises? - Part 1B':
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/trai...
Here is the section about warming up - you need to do the joint rotation exercises before you do your static stretching exercises.
Is a warm-up needed before you do the stretching exercises?
If you have time before going out to run or play a game of your preferred sport, then yes, go through a full general warm-up routine with all the other activities involved in it so as to get your muscles warm before stretching. Then go on to do the static 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.
