Warm ups and cool downs - why are they important?

Warm ups and cool downs for exercise are often misunderstood and performed poorly or not at all.

When you are exercising, training or playing a sport, warm ups and cool downs are an important part of the routine. When performed incorrectly a warm up may actually increase your chances of injury!

So what is the purpose of a warm up and a cool down? Why are they important? What should you do during the warm up and cool down?

Warm ups

Warm ups prepare your body for the activity that you are about to do. Your body has to make changes to optimise the processes needed to perform the exercise or sport. These changes include increasing your breathing and heart rate, increasing the energy-releasing reactions in the muscles and increasing blood flow to the muscles to supply them with more oxygen and to remove waste products.

These processes are not done quickly so a warm up of 5-10 minutes is recommended before exercise.

A proper warm up should consist of the following;

1. Begin with a few minutes of light exercise such as walking.

2. Build this to a light jog

3. Perform the types of movements that you will be doing during your exercise but at a lower intensity.

Please note that it is not recommended to do static stretches of the muscles until after point 2 above. I personally recommend that static stretches be done in the cool down and not the warm up.

These will ensure that the muscles that you will be using during your exercise will be prepared.

Cool downs

Cool downs help your heart rate and breathing to return to resting levels, helps to remove lactic acid from your muscles, which can build up during vigorous activity (lactic acid is most effectively removed by gentle exercise rather than stopping suddenly) and helps your muscles return to their optimal length.

A proper cool down should consist of the following;

1. Begin by performing 5 minutes of less intense (slower paced and less exertion) versions of what you did during your exercise. By the end of the 5 minutes you should just be walking.

2. Static stretching. Ensure that you stretch all the major muscle groups that were used during your exercise. Stretching should not be painful. Stretching should be held for 30 seconds with no bouncing (bouncing can increase your chances of a tear). Each stretch should be repeated 2 or 3 times.