How well do you warm up

What do you do when you warm up?

Studies now show that dynamic warm ups (DWU) are better than static stretching (SS) and no warm up (NWU).  DWU have been shown to decrease injury rates and performance compare SS and NWU groups.  Conversely, some studies have shown that static stretching can decrease performance on tasks such as vertical jump.

Dynamic warm ups should feature progressive and continuous movements.  The goal of a DWU should be to: increase the suppleness of muscles and tendons, increase blood flow to the arms and legs, increase body temperature and enhance free coordinated movement.

An example of a dynamic warm up  can be body weight movements where intensity is progressively increasing.  For example, squats, airplanes, lunges, pushups, step ups, jumping jacks.  These exercises can also be paired with running drills – i.e. Track A’s, B’s, C’s.

Dr. Paul