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ForEliteAtheletes toFunRunners
16
RACE: TECHNIQUE
significantly reduce the risk of injury
Warm up,
cool down
A good warm
up should
last around
10-15
minutes...
Fear not, the
beer will still
be cold in 10
minutes!
...make sure
you are
warming up
the parts of
the body that
are going to
be doing
the work
How important is it really?
Well, I’d say VERY.
When we exercise our muscles demand more oxygen.
Warming up our body is the foundation for us to
perform at our best so is in fact highly important.
Increasing the oxygen and blood flow to our
muscles not only helps us loosen up but our heart
rate rises too as does our body temperature. (About
40 degrees is optimum).
How many times have you got to the gym or got out
the car thinking “it’s a bit chilly” and within 10-20
minutes of exercise you don’t feel the cold at all?
Not only this but we significantly reduce the risk of
injury too by having warmed up our muscles before
we start.
A good
warm up
should last around 10-15 minutes
and your main work out should follow as soon as
possible. By all means have a quick sip, catch your
breath but be ready to go as soon as you can. The
benefits are lost after 30 minutes of inactivity so
you’d have to do it all over again.
Bear in mind 3 things when you plan your warm up.
1
Does it raise your heart rate?
You need to get
that blood pumping so it can supply the muscles
with oxygen.
2
Have you stretched?
When you exercise, your
muscles contract. Stretching them out means you
can increase the range of motion from your joints.
3
Does your warm up directly relate to your main
workout?
There’s zero point in doing a lower body
warm up if your main set is an upper body workout.
Make sure you are warming up the parts of the
body that are going to be doing the work.
Now you are warm you are free to do the main part
of your workout. Do whatever makes you happy.
Yes, you might be able to burn calories faster if
you do HIIT but if you don’t enjoy it where’s the
satisfaction? If a long slow run is your thing, then
take to the hills. If smashing out some weights is
what puts a smile on your face, then keep smiling
and lift those dumbbells. Do whatever you want to
do. The simple fact is, it’s better than doing nothing
so don’t compare your training to others, it is ok to
concentrate entirely on yourself totally guilt free.
You’ve finished!
How great do you feel now? You’re
hot, you’re sweaty, you’ve worked hard. It’s time
to cool those muscles and that body down. It is
equally important as the warmup and should not
be overlooked. You should be cooling down after
EVERY workout as well as post race. Whether
you’ve run, walked or crawled a 5k, 10k or 20k, the
body still needs to cool down gradually and those
muscles need to be stretched again or the dreaded
DOMS (Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness) will be
far worse than if you don’t.
The purpose of cooling down properly is to allow
the heart rate to return to normal, gradually. It is
similar to the warm up but in reverse. Reducing the
supply of oxygen to the muscles, cooling down and
stretching aids in the dissipation of lactic acid and
will help circulate blood and oxygen to the muscles,
restoring them to the condition they were in before
you started exercise. (Well almost)
A simple jog or walk to decrease the heart rate and
some static stretching should be adequate. Hold
each stretch for 10 seconds, your muscles will
begin to relax and realign muscle fibres.
Sports massage
can be used as a warm up and
cool down technique. A short massage to warm
the muscles up can help to stretch muscles and
get the blood pumping and can give you time to
prepare mentally, especially if competing. Exercise
should be carried out as soon as possible after or
the effects will have worn off. It should also not be
a soothing and relaxing massage as this can lower
your heart rate and relax the body too much to
perform at your optimum.
A
post exercise
massage will be beneficial to restore
the muscles to their pre exercise state and will help
remove waste build up. This can be as soothing as
you wish, after all, the hard work is done...
...and you deserve a little TLC...
