3 Reasons Why You Should Warm-Up!
You enter the gym. You're pumped, motivated and excited to get your workout going. But wait! Before you dive headfirst into the intensity of your workout, there's an essential step that you might have overlooked: warming up.
The last thing you want is to waste time on what seems like a mundane warm-up routine. The idea of spending valuable minutes on light exercises might feel like an interruption towards the real action. However, what if we told you that this seemingly tedious and unexciting phase of your workout is actually the secret to unlocking your full potential?
In this blog, we will delve into the reasons why warming up is not just a formality, but an integral part of any successful exercise regimen. Get ready to revolutionise your approach to exercise and witness the remarkable impact a proper warm-up can have on your overall performance and well-being!
1. Mobility and Flexibility!
Warming up helps in the production of a type of lubricating substance called synovial fluid, which minimises friction between your joints and allows for smoother joint movement. Essentially, warming up gives our bodies the opportunity to limber up our muscles and joints, allowing for greater range of motion, which translates to better exercise form, reduced risk of injury and improved overall performance.
Consider your body a balloon! Just like you'd pull and stretch a balloon before blowing it up to ensure it can expand without popping, the same principle applies to your body. Incorporating stretching and mobility work will only benefit your overall well-being and enhance your body's flexibility and resilience to perform better during your workout. So, make stretching and mobility an integral part of our fitness routine to unlock the full potential of your body!
One of our personal trainers, Marcus, doing a deep stretch for his quads!
2. Improve your blood flow!
Just as warming up the gears of an engine ensures a smooth and efficient operation, dedicating a few seconds to warm up your body sets the stage for a great workout!
When you engage in a warm-up routine, blood flow surges, delivering a vital supply of oxygen and nutrients to your hardworking muscles. This influx of nourishment prepares your body for the challenges ahead, enabling you to push past previous limits, sprint with newfound speed, and even conquer heavier weights with confidence. Warming up, like the name suggests, also increases muscle temperature and elasticity, reducing the risk of muscle tears and strains.
While athletes have long understood the importance of warming up, it's a practice that extends far beyond the world of professional sports. Improved circulation and enhanced mobility benefit individuals of all fitness levels. So whether you're a fitness enthusiast aiming to shatter personal records or someone seeking to inject vitality into their exercise routine, embracing the power of warming up is the way to unlocking your untapped potential!
3. Bye-bye injuries!
Injuries are the party poopers of any workout regimen but fear not, for warm-ups are here to ease your fear! Apart from lubricating your joints and increasing your muscle pliability, warming up also works through other mechanisms to prevent injury!
A thorough warm-up prepares your nervous system, improving the coordination and communication between your muscles and brain. This neuromuscular activation enhances your body's ability to respond to sudden movements and challenges during exercise, effectively preventing mishaps and injuries.
Additionally, through specific warm-up exercises that target the core and activate key muscle groups, you improve muscle activation patterns and stability. This heightened stability provides a solid foundation for proper movement execution, reducing the risk of imbalances and compensatory motions that can lead to injuries.
A simple yet effective warm-up routine that includes mobility exercises for the upper and lower body, along with core stability drills, goes a long way in preparing your body to withstand the physical stresses of exercise. Not only does this significantly reduce the chances of sprains, strains, and other troublesome injuries, but it also allows you to reap the full benefits of your workout!
One of our personal trainers, Brandon Choo, incorporating planks into his workout to work on his core!
How Long Should I Warm Up For?
5 minutes before each session would be a good place to start, especially if you don't have the habit of warming up!
However, how long of a warm-up the body needs varies based on factors such as training type, age, training intensity and conditioning level.
While there isn't a standardised formula, a general guideline would be to warm up for 5-10 minutes prior to your training. While warming up, do listen to your body's cues, paying attention to how it responds to the exercises, and adjust the duration and intensity accordingly to find the sweet spot! Ensure that your warm up is thorough enough to induce physiological adaptations that enhance performance but not too long such that it exhausts you prior to the actual training!
One of our personal trainers, Abel, warming up his shoulders prior to his workout!
Warming up may seem like a tedious and mundane chore sometimes, but we can't deny that it's the gateway into a more fruitful and injury-free exercise journey! From enhancing flexibility to preventing injuries and improving your performance, the benefits of a proper warm-up routine are simply too good to ignore!
Interested to know about what kinds of warm-ups to do for different types of training? At FITLUC, our Personal Trainers will be there to guide you and answer your questions like how long to warm up for and what kinds of warm-ups do you need to do!
So what are you waiting for? Drop us a WhatsApp message at +65 8812 0110 or book a personal training trial with one of our dedicated trainers to explore if personal training is the best choice for you!
Just a heads-up, it will probably be one of the best decisions you’ve ever made.
About FITLUC
Looking for a Personal Trainer in Singapore? Look no further! At FITLUC, we specialise in In-Person and Online Personal Training, and we also offer house-call PT with a small additional fee. We currently base our Personal Training clients at a well-equipped gym just a stone's throw away from Outram Park MRT. We have also just opened our second outlet at 82 Boat Quay, which is located right in the heart of CBD!
We are recognized as one of the Top 12 Best PT in Singapore and were featured on Mothership, The Straits Times, YES 93.3FM, Yahoo News, etc. Our Personal Trainers have worked with clients aged 13 – 84, from Celebrities to CEOs, working professionals and homemakers, with goals ranging from fat loss, weight loss, muscle gain to athletic performance and elderly training. Our celebrity clientele includes Maxi Lim, Hazelle Teo, Tayying, Lee Teng, Ze Tong, Benjamin Tan, Royce Lee and more.
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