Think of your muscles like rubber bands.
If you spend all day sitting at a desk, hunched over a keyboard, those rubber bands have gone almost completely unused. Now, combine this lack of movement with some cold winter weather – your bands are now extra tight and constricted. Then, go to a gym and immediately start lifting heavy weights or sprinting really fast – those cold, un-stretched rubber bands get pulled apart very quickly and will snap.
So, what about just regular, static stretching then? Unfortunately, just doing static stretching before a workout can overextend those muscles and actually rob them of the power and strength necessary for your actual workout.
For that reason, dynamic warm-ups are the winner!
Think of it like a pregame for your muscles – By jumping around and getting your muscles loose, active, warm, and ready for action, you will keep yourself strong and injury free.
On top of that, doing a dynamic warm up can help activate your central nervous system, priming your muscles and body for a great workout that produces your best effort.
Add “improved blood circulation” to the list of benefits of warming up, which will help you perform better with each exercise.
Need another reason? When your body is properly warmed up, your muscles and joints are ready for maximum flexibility, which means you can perform each exercise with PROPER form (like deep squats, for example) that maximize results and minimizes the risk of injury.
Sep
11
2014
Is a Warm Up Worth Your Time?
Dynamic warm-ups are used for preparing the body for movement.As opposed to static stretching, dynamic warm-ups utilize continuous movement to increase blood flow by causing vasodilation as the muscles become warm, increase the speed of contraction and relaxation of the muscles, bring the heart rate to a workable range, and mentally prepare the participant for exercise.
So WHY is it so important?
So WHY is it so important?
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