Warm-up: the essence of your workout!

Why try some warm-up before workout? The general concept of warming up refers to a series of exercises that work at the same time several groups of muscles of the body, so that it is prepared for the demands of the workout. Basically, it is about making the body give its best so that our efforts lead to optimal performance, minimizing the risk of injury while you are dancing or doing some fitness activity, and achieving better goals. By doing a warm-up, the temperature of our muscles is increased, and the heart rate is accelerated, the processes that allow a quick and efficient release of energy.

Warming up is one of the most important phases of working out. Thanks to it, our muscles and our circulatory system are prepared to assume a higher energy expenditure than usual. However, we must keep in mind that there are several types of warm-ups depending on the kind of physical activity that we are doing. Today we are going to explain each one of them, and then you can find out which one works better for you.

1. General warm-up or full body warm-up

The main function of general warming is to prepare as many muscles as possible for the activity you are about to do, without focusing on a specific muscle group, for example: walking on the elliptical or running. It is used for calorie burning. Here, movements are performed without involving much force; we do exercises that activate muscles throughout the body with moderate intensity.

You can have an idea by watching this StepFlix Warm up that includes all types of exercises to warm your muscles from head to toes.

2. Specific or segmented warm-up

In this one, you work with the muscles and joints that are directly involved in the type of exercise we are going to perform. Usually, this type of warm-up consists of performing the activity that we will then do, practicing it with low intensity. For example, if we are going to perform bench press, specific heating will be to lift the bar, adding discs that weigh very little, so that we can do many repetitions.

While general warming is done once and is valid for the entire workout, it is advisable to perform several segmented warm-ups in each session, once you change activity or muscle groups to work.

3. Dynamic warm-up

If the previous types of heating differ, especially by highlighting the body parts involved, in this case, the main feature is the nature of the activity to be performed. Dynamic warming is distinguished by implementing biological processes: strength, flexibility, balance, breathing control, etc. Therefore, it involves both physical and psychological properties to make us enter in a proper function, that is when we start doing our workout. Dynamic heating can work as an imitation of the activity or sport you’re about to perform. For example, a swimmer may circle their arms before getting into the water.

4. Preventive warm-up

It involves specific instructions indicated by a professional who has given guidelines to prevent a particular injury or the worsening of an existing injury. It is executed with low intensity, although its nature can vary depending on the case and the risk faced by those who practice the sport.

A key factor of warming up is stretching before and after our workout; it helps optimize the coordination and fluidity of our movements, as well as blood circulation. It is advisable to stretch our muscles and joints daily, to release any tension, improve our posture, and prevent injuries. All stretches must be as wide as possible without feeling pain. It is important to resist the maximum stretch posture between 15 and 30 seconds and not exceed that point.

Warming up has a lot of benefits such as:

• Increases the temperature of our body that in adults can rise above 32ºF,
• Increases general blood flow, which means that our oxygen supply gets higher, and the elimination of carbon dioxide gets easier.
• Increases heart rate and lung activity, improving its capacity. 

The warm-up before workout and the stretching of our muscles are essential when we are doing any physical activity or practicing any sport. With a simple but well-done routine, we can prevent pains, tears, and injuries that can cause severe fractures later on.