If you are into fitness or sports, you have most likely heard the terms “Warm Up” and “Stretching.” Usually, warm-ups or stretching are not categorized separately as they both have similar effects.
However, there are some fundamental differences between the two.
Warm-up exercises increase our heart rate and prepare our muscles and joints before performing any physical activity.
Stretching are static hold in which muscles are kept in a lengthened position for some time to increase blood flow and to increase flexibility.
Though there are some differences between them, the core functionality is the same for both warm-ups and stretching which is to prepare the body before any heavy activity and increase flexibility.
There are many benefits of warm-ups and stretching. Among them, the common benefits that everyone gets are:
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Reducing the chance of Injury
When our muscles are cold, by which we mean the blood flow is not good enough in the muscle groups,. At that time, if we put sudden tension or pressure on our muscles, there might be a possibility that our muscles or joints may receive an injury.
By doing warm-ups or stretching exercises, we can reduce the chance of that injury to a great extent. When we perform warm-ups or stretching exercises, the blood flow starts to increase in specific muscles or the overall body. Our brain receives the signal that we are going to put some pressure on our body so it provides the necessary signals to our body to get ready.
If you observe professional bodybuilders or sportspersons, you will see that before starting to work out or play sports, they always either do some light warm-up exercises or stretching to prepare their body.
How to perform warm-ups or stretching?
There is no one particular way that you need to follow. You can prepare your body before exercising in many ways. However, we will tell you some shortcuts that will save you a lot of time and also will be very useful in the long term.
Usually, warm-up exercises are performed before you start working out. It is very important because it prepares your body before heavy lifting.
To do a warm-up you can perform certain cardio exercises to increase the blood flow in your body. Which may include:
- Indoor cycling for 10 minutes
- Doing Jumping Jacks
- Walk on the treadmill
- Do skipping Etc.
However, if you do not have enough time to spend 20 to 30 minutes doing warm-up exercises then the best thing for you to do will be to perform warm-up sets. Warm-up sets are lightweight sets of any exercise you are going to perform.
Suppose, you perform a bench press with 80 KG (175 Pounds), before jumping into bench pressing with 80 KG, you should perform 2 warm-up sets with 20/30 KG to increase blood flow on the muscle and prepare the joints.
For the same group of muscles, you do not need to do warm-ups if you use this method. However, if you perform exercise for different muscle groups then in the same way perform warm-up sets.
Most of the people perform stretching exercises at the end of the workout. However, you can also perform it at the beginning to make the muscle flexible. It is recommended that you do flexibility exercises based on the muscles you are training.
If you train your lower body then you should perform lower-body stretching exercises like hip flexing, toe touching, etc. When doing upper body exercises then perform upper body focused stretching.
We would recommend you do stretching after completing exercises which will help you to release the pressure or tension on the muscles.
Improve Flexibility
Usually, we think that it is only stretching that makes us more flexible but in reality warm-up exercises also help us in increasing flexibility.
Especially when we do aerobic-style warmups like jumping jacks and mountain climbers it helps to release the stiffness of the body. It also loosens the joints that increase flexibility which helps us to perform different exercises with the full range of motion.
When we do warm-up or Stretching exercises the muscles get a boost of oxygen supply. When muscles are held in a static position it stretches the muscle fibers which over time make the muscle more flexible.
For this reason, you can see in different therapies stretching exercises are included.
Stiff bodies can increase the chances of injury. People with limited mobility often face muscle pulls due to their inflexibility.
Increasing flexibility can help you to reduce the chances of injury to a great extent and also it will make you more agile. Performing day-to-day activities will become much easier.
So, we would recommend everybody to include some kind of stretching or warm-up exercises in their daily lives even if they do not work out.
Helps in improving posture
Almost all stretching exercises help you maintain good posture as they help your muscles loosen up and become more flexible.
Many stretching exercises are performed to fix the muscle imbalance problem. One of the main causes of muscle imbalance is stiffness on one side, which can be easily fixed by stretching as it helps in increasing flexibility and reducing stiffness.
Some warm-up exercises help you to increase core stability and also help you to increase mobility, like mountain climbers, which can help you to perform exercises with correct form and technique as you will be able to engage the correct muscle more with the help of increased mobility.
Many people think warm-ups and stretching are a waste of time, but they are completely wrong. There is a reason why professional athletes and sportspeople perform them; if they were ineffective, no one would waste their time, at least at the professional level.
We would highly recommend you always perform at least warm-up sets before you start the real workout and do at least 5 to 10 minutes of stretching after a workout. What is the benefit of having a muscular body with no flexibility? Flexibility is equally important as growing muscle.