Runners, don't skip the warm-up.it's universally recommended: Warm up before you work out. But there are many impatient runners out there who skip this important step to save time. If you just take off running with no warm-up, you may be missing out on several advantages. * Warming up increases blood flow, providing oxygen to working muscles and improving overall oxygen dynamics, which favorably affects VO2max. * Active warm-ups reduce the build up of lactic acid lactic acid, CH3CHOHCO2H, a colorless liquid organic acid. It is miscible with water or ethanol. Lactic acid is a fermentation product of lactose (milk sugar); it is present in sour milk, koumiss, leban, yogurt, and cottage cheese. during high-intensity exercise. * Elevating the body temperature with a warm-up increases the movement of oxygen from hemoglobin hemoglobin (hē`məglō'bĭn), respiratory protein found in the red blood cells (erythrocytes) of all vertebrates and some invertebrates. and myoglobin myoglobin (mī'əglō`bĭn), protein molecule isolated from the cells of vertebrate skeletal muscle that is both a structural and functional relative of hemoglobin, the oxygen-transport protein of the blood of higher animals. . It reduces muscle viscosity, making muscles more fluid and supple supple Physical exam adjective Referring to free movement of a body part . It also increases the sensitivity of nerve receptors and speeds nerve responses. * Warm-ups reduce injuries. * Warming up reduces oxygen consumption during exercise and lowers post exercise heart rates compared to no warm-up. * A moderate intensity warm-up improves your range of motion and anaerobic anaerobic /an·aer·o·bic/ (an?ah-ro´bik) 1. lacking molecular oxygen. 2. growing, living, or occurring in the absence of molecular oxygen; pertaining to an anaerobe. performance. * Warm-ups are associated with decreased use of glycogen, longer time to fatigue and improved aerobic aerobic /aer·o·bic/ (ar-o´bik) 1. having molecular oxygen present. 2. growing, living, or occurring in the presence of molecular oxygen. 3. requiring oxygen for respiration. 4. energy metabolism Energy metabolism Energy metabolism, or bioenergetics, is the study of energy changes that accompany biochemical reactions. Energy sustains the work of biosynthesis of cellular and extracellular components, the transport of ions and organic chemicals against . If you routinely avoid a warm-up, you may be selling your training short. In general, warm-ups improve subsequent performance, enabling you to make more effective use of your workouts. With the added benefit of injury prevention, a warm-up is time well spent. Jog at an easy pace for a few minutes and then gently stretch prior to a regular training run. Start running slowly for several minutes before building to moderate intensity (60% VO2max). For races, increase your warm-up to include a gradual build to a higher intensity. (Med. Sci. Sports & Exerc., 2002, Vol. 34, No. 12, pp. 2091-2096; Journ. Applied Phys., 2002, Vol. 92, No. 2, pp. 609-616; 1999, Vol. 87, No. 5, pp. 1914-1922; Journ. Orthopedic and Sports Phys. Ther., 1998, Vol. 27, No. 2, pp. 154-161; Intern'l Journ. Sports Med., 1991, Vol. 12, No. 5, pp. 480-483) |
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