Joint warm-up is essential for all athletes who want to last over time and have optimal performance. In this article we will look at why to warm up and the different parts of the warm up to do before a workout.
What are the benefits of heating?
- Reduce the risk of injury:
The goal is to increase the intensity very gradually, up to the intensity of the sport being played. The muscles and tendons will therefore become more elastic and the synovial fluid in the joints will increase in temperature. - Improve your performance:
Warming up optimizes the body for effort and improves physical and mental performance. Athletes train not only for the preventive aspect, but to be more efficient during competitions.
The body will have better coordination, greater strength, and better focus and concentration. - Mental Preparation Routine:
For many high-level athletes, warming up is a moment of mental preparation that allows them to enter the game and carry out the rituals set up with the mental trainer.
So when you see Nadal jumping while taking off his jacket before the warm up, it’s definitely a ritual put in place that helps with concentration and getting into his match.
When should you warm up?
The warm-up must be done just before the effort to be optimal. If practiced too early, the body will have time to cool down.
In addition to playing sports, you can also warm up before work to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders. Some companies like it teamupp help organize this type of workshop before taking up the job.
How to warm up before sport?
The warm-up takes place in several phases which correspond to the different parts of the body.
The heated structures are the joints, muscles and tendons, the cardiovascular system and the proprioceptive receptors. After this general warm-up, there will be a technical warm-up to optimize your performance on the pitch.
Joint warm-up:
The first step in warming up before sport is often the joint pins. They heat the synovial fluid and thus lubricate and prepare the joints for the effort.
It is quite simple to perform this part, it is enough to mobilize each joint at least ten times, increasing the amplitude.
In case of pain, the amplitude should be reduced. If pain is still present, exercise should be stopped.
Top athletes know their bodies and know that some joints need to be warmed up for longer. For example, if your shoulders are weak, make sure you mobilize them well.
To make sure you don’t forget any joints, you can start the warm-up with your head and go down to your feet.
Muscle warm-up:
The purpose of the muscle warm-up is to gradually subject the muscles to the effort and to make them rise in temperature.
For this, you can perform a Russian warm-up, which consists of repeated concentric contractions of progressive intensity. For example, this will involve performing a leg abduction with a rubber band.
It is a method that allows the muscles to warm up very quickly and is very delicate.
You can also do dynamic stretches, which will stretch your muscles to their fullest extent and thus reduce muscle strain.
Finally, it is possible to do athletic ladders, which will have a transversal impact on the cardiovascular system, muscles, tendons and joints. This practice is essential for all sports involving running, changes of direction and accelerations.
Athletics exercises to warm up before a sports session:
- the knee rises
- butt heels
- Progressive accelerations
- Not hunted
- Jumping footsteps
Cardiovascular warm-up:
In this part, the goal is to do exercises that increase your cardio and prepare your cardiovascular system.
For this reason, if you play soccer, you can start with a few laps of the pitch at a moderate pace for 5 minutes. Then do athletic scales that will continue to increase the intensity.
Finally you can move on to the technical warm-up with runs, accelerations and ball games.
In some sports that put a lot of strain on the cardiovascular system, such as archery, it is not necessary to include this warm-up part.
Read also: Restrictive diet in athletes
Technical heating:
Finally, you have to practice your business, work on your technique and some tactical schemes to get into your session or game.
