Comp Prep Guide

Bikini competitor Em Dunc explains why warming up is important and how it improves the effectiveness of your workout or training session.

What is up you guys, welcome back to my channel.

In today's video we are going to be talking about proper warm-ups for training or for sports.

In my last video I talked about PNF stretching which is Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation stretching and that is a form of static stretching. In that video you guys asked to include more stuff about not only stretching but also proper warm-ups.

I did make a point of saying that you don't want to be doing static stretching before a workout as that's the improper time to do it.

A warm-up is different than static stretching so some of you have asked me to do a video on warming up.

So today we are going to talk about what a proper warm-up looks like, and what are some of the benefits of a proper warm-up. Warm-up is an integral part of any strength training program, any sport related program.

The main goal or purpose of a warm-up is to prepare the athlete both physiologically and psychologically for the activity they are about to perform, whether that's a strength training session or a game.

A lot of people do this, especially average gym goers or even bodybuilders. Many people go to the gym and they skip their warmup and they jump right into whatever they're about to do that day and I would just like to strongly advise against that.

I think I will make a fairly convincing case as to why but whether you're an Olympic athlete or just a regular gym goer warming up properly actually improves your training performance.

So when it comes to warming up you want to keep your warm-up active and dynamic. A lot of people still do static stretching for their works and there's actually many many many studies that show that static stretching is actually not the greatest thing for your performance. It decreases your training performance, your force production, your reaction time and your speed. It's just in your best interest to save that for the end of the workout, for the cooldown.

Here are some of the benefits and reasons for a proper warm-up: first and foremost is temperature related. It's called a ‘warm up’ and part of the actual purpose of doing a warm up is to warm you up or to heat you up.

Raising your internal body temperature not only prepares your joints, your muscles, your tendons, your ligaments for physical activity but it could also help you burn more calories per workout.

It’s just a very important part of your actual workout itself which is getting your body ready.

All of these things that I'm talking about have been backed by scientific studies so I don't want to be redundant and say research or studies shows unless the NSCA is lying to me. I really don't think they are because they are a very trustworthy governing body and this is all current scientific information.

You will get faster muscle contraction in your Agonist/Antagonist. You will also have a better rate of force development and reaction time.

In terms of force development, if you can produce more force in your workout then you are automatically doing more work. Basically the formula is “Work = Force x Displacement” so if you increase force, by default you are increasing the work you have done. In terms of better reaction time, that is a better marker for increased athletic performance.

A proper warm up will also give you improved muscular strength and power. It will give an increased blood flow to the muscles you are working.

Lastly, it will also better prepare you psychologically for the activity that you are about to do which could be weight lifting or a game you are about to play.

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