Header Graphic
 
 

Starting With Basic Warm Ups

The basic warm ups are something that we all have done at one point or another in our lives. Most of us will remember the basic warm ups from our school days before we played team sports or took part in some physical education activity. The importance of basic warm ups cannot be discounted. It has been claimed that warming up even helps boost morale of the players in team sports.

Basic warm ups and their advantages

Tight muscles can be a source of injury. Basic warm ups can help you lessen the risk of hurting yourself. Warming up can also make it easier for you to perform your workout more easily because it increases your heart rate. Doing basic warm ups also increases the level of adrenaline in your body and gives you the boost you need for intensive workouts. The basic warm ups also increases the level of oxygen in your body, enabling you to achieve greater success while doing exercises that are of a cardiovascular nature.

Stretch or not to stretch during your basic warm ups

A lot of athletes will stretch before they exercise so that they can increase performance. However, whether this is useful or not is a matter of controversy. It is not clearly proven that stretching can be of any significant benefit. However, you should not stretch before you have completed your basic warm ups. Many people do take their stretching seriously and for those that do and swear by it, it is an important part of the basic warm ups routine. If you feel that you should stretch, some exercises that may be useful are touching toes, trunk rotation, quadriceps stretch, standing calf stretch etc. You should not rotate your neck because it can lead to serious injuries, upper trapezius stretches may be done though.

Basic warm ups and their role in sports

Different sports depend on different muscles. What works in one sport may not be used at all in another. The same goes for your basic warm ups routine. You should not use a warm up technique used in field hockey for soccer! Getting a specialized basic warm ups exercise routine for your sport should be your goal. It may be useful to work with a sports coach or gym instructor initially so that they can help you develop a basic warm ups routine that is specially crafted for you. Basic warm ups are a great morale booster in team sports because the team gets to work out together at a relaxed pace before the more intensive workouts that follow. It can lead to good team bonding.

Things to remember with basic warm ups

It is worth remembering that like any exercise, basic warm ups are also exercises. They have an impact on your heart rate and blood pressure. If you are not fit and you are not used to even mild or moderate exercise you should consult with a doctor before you begin any exercise program.