It’s tempting to avoid warming up, particularly when in a hurry to start your session. Even so, this step is as important as the actual exercise. View it as powering your diesel engine before hitting the road on a chilly morning. These are the advantages.
1. Mental Preparation
You’re likely to quit when the workout becomes tough. This is especially true if you start at high momentum. Warming up reminds you about your fitness goals and gives you the confidence to handle the task ahead. Plus, it frees anxiety, so you don’t get distracted or make mistakes.
2. Increased Muscle Temperature
Loosening up makes your muscles warm to enhance contraction and relaxation. That way, they don’t overstretch and cause injury. The overall body heat also rises, therefore, adding muscle power and agility.
3. Increased Blood Temperature
The blood becomes warm as it goes through your heated muscles. This temperature separates oxygen from hemoglobin to be utilized by the body, hence, building endurance.
4. Dilated Blood Vessels
Warm-ups enlarge the blood vessels and boost your heart rate. As such, your cardiovascular system has enough time to ease into the increased oxygen and blood demands. At the same time, you remain cool during intense activities like running or cycling.
5. Energy Production
Loosening up triggers hormones responsible for energy release, for instance, epinephrine, and cortisol. This makes essential fuels available like fatty acids and glucose.
Ending with a cool-down is equally important. Apart from aiding waste expulsion from the muscles, it restores normal breathing to avoid fainting.
