stretching
Warming Up
Most of the physical benefits of a warm up - increased blood flow to the muscles, enhanced metabolic reactions, reduced muscle viscosity, increased extensibility of connective tissue, improved conduction velocity of action potentials, etc. - are obtained during the first few repetitions of an exercise. If a moderate or higher repetition range is used, the first few repetitions of an exercise warm up and prepare the muscles and joints involved for the harder reps later in the set and a separate warm up is not required. Additionally, each exercise performed helps prepare the muscles and joints for subsequent exercises they’re involved in.
I do not perform a warm up for the majority of exercises in my workout, and do not have the people I train warm up for their workouts with a few of the following exceptions, and no one has been injured as a result. Like most aspects of exercise, whether to perform a warm up or not depends on the individual and the specifics of the workout being performed. › Continue reading