Why is it important to warm up before exercising?

Physical activity professionals constantly insist on the need to stretch before and after training. But why are they so important? What changes can they produce to justify making them mandatory? Let's review some of the best benefits of warming up and perform stretches before the activity itself begins.

How to warm up before exercising

Although generally there is always one clear exercise routine to perform, it is possible that the issue of warming up or stretching is not so clear. In fact, even today there are those who decide to skip this vital part of training and expose themselves to suffering significant injuries during the routines.

If you have a personal trainer, they will determine which exercises are suitable to be part of the warm-up to acclimate the body to the effort that will have to be made in the following minutes.

However, if you don't have personal trainer, a series of short routines must be created to warm up and allow the body to adjust.

The first thing to consider is which muscles will be involved, as they will be the ones that need to acclimate the most. They should be stretched beforehand (to prevent injuries) and after (to avoid the dreaded muscle soreness) of the training so that the body recovers its physical state as soon as possible.

What must be kept in mind is that, whether the warm-up consists of stretching or light to moderate exercise sessions, it is necessary to warm up before exercising. When cold, the body will be far from being in optimal condition to train and you will risk injury by demanding the body to perform far beyond what it is capable of at that moment.

What is the purpose of warming up before exercising?

Although the importance of warming up before any physical activity has been known for years, even today some people don't know what warming up is for and underestimate their impact in the body.

The body must be in an optimal state to fully unleash its physical potential and deliver the best performance during the activity. That state doesn't come out of nowhere, and it begins with moderate physical activity and perform a series of stretches that prevent the muscles from suffering tears and other types of injuries.

It is always good to warm up before exercising and you should never skip it no matter how late you arrive to class or how rushed you are. It is better to do not skip the warm-up and that the session lasts less, gaining a few extra minutes of exercise at the cost of exposing the body to an unfavorable state.

The muscles must be relaxed, the body must have raised the heart rate slightly (it is not healthy at all for the heart rate to spike suddenly, something that usually happens when starting to train without warming up first), and joints, tendons, and senses must be in a moderate state of alert, which allows increasing reflexes and the body's ability to respond to external stimuli.

Benefits of stretching after physical activity

There is no doubt, and nowadays practically no one denies it, that warming up and stretching are beneficial for the body.

The fact that it greatly reduces the likelihood of suffering any type of injury during physical activity, allows the cardiovascular system to work at a higher frequency, and acclimates the body to react in a shorter response time makes warming up essential.

However, although stretching and other warm-up activities before starting physical activity have become popular over the years, the truth is that stretching after training is extremely important. Therefore, we must keep in mind that warming up is not just about starting, but also finishing.

To avoid injuries after physical activity, it is best for the body to be at rest, in a relaxed position, and once the heart rate has decreased, start with light stretches that mainly involve the most saturated muscle group.

It should be noted that warming up is related to the body's acclimatization, but this acclimatization occurs in two directions: it is not only about preparing the body for intense physical effort, but it also involves make the body return to its resting state in a progressive way, without compromising the cardiovascular system.