You need a Preworkout Warmup Routine because... Like a machine your body works best when warm. Muscles need to be warm, soft and supple, with the blood flowing easily through them; ready for the effort you're about to subject them to... Muscles and ligaments are like Chewing Gum (the technical word for "like chewing gum" is "tixotrophic")... Imagine a piece of chewing gum. When the gum has been chewed and is warm it can be stretched. But if it has been left lying around and is cold, it won't stretch. Likely as not it will snap. Your muscles and ligaments are like that gum - they become more pliable when warmed by vigourous activity. Muscles work by stretching and contracting. Try stretching a cold muscle and it will resist any lengthening, and could even snap. Warm it, and it stretches easily, requiring less effort to elongate it between each contraction. That means more efficiency and a faster potential running speed. The Heart Your heart is also a muscle, and it needs warming up, so your pre-race activity must be vigorous enough to get your pulse rate up. So before any race or training effort, you must get into a warm up habit. [For more benefits, see List of warm-up benefits] Technical Excellence Technical excellence in the warm up leads to technical excellence in the race... It is important when doing drills as part of a warm up (and at all other times too) that they are done correctly. You must practise the way you compete. If you are not technically sound during the warm-up you won't be technically sound in competition when it matters. The warm-up is not a time for fooling around, but is the foundation for the race or training that follow. Do It Right, Every Time! The routine is the same whether you are preparing for a training session or a race. Follow the routine for all training sessions and competitions. [Learn it by heart. Perform it to perfection. With diligence, your warm-up becomes a trustworthy friend to take you faster, further and safer than your less diligent competition]. |
