How to perform an effective warm up

Warm ups: why we do them and how to do them

Performing a warm up is an essential part of all training sessions and competition events. There are many reasons and benefits to performing a warm up, both physiological and psychological. This short blog post will focus solely on the physiological benefits and reasons to perform a warm up.

The big one

The main reason to perform a warm up routine is to prevent injury, specifically muscular injury. When accounting for injuries in sport more than 30% of injuries were attributed to skeletal muscle injuries in sport medicine clinics (Woods, K; Bishop, P; & Jones, E; 2007).

So, if we know we must perform a warm up routine, what should it be? Currently you will find a huge amount of literature online for warm up routines, but how do you determine what is best for you?

In this article I am going to explain the RAMP protocol for performing a warm up routine and provide some exercises which can be done as a routine.

What is RAMP?

RAMP is a 4-stage protocol which can be used to warm up for any training session or bout of physical activity. RAMP stands for:

• Raise body temperature
• Activate the muscles which will be used in the session
• Mobilize the body for the movement patterns required in the session
• Potentiate the body – gradually increase the stress on the body so it is prepared for the intensity of the session

The main focus of this blog will focus on how to raise your body temperature and activate the muscles required in the session. We will discuss the other 2 points in a further blog.

How to raise your body temperature

This is probably the easiest step to complete but can be overlooked because of this. Raising your body temperature has a host of benefits for you prior to exercise. The main function of this is to increase blood flow and to indicate to the body to increase the production of synovial fluid in the joints of the body. These two factors are very important when preparing the body for physical activity or for the training session you are about to take part in.

The methods for increasing your body temp can vary depending on your setting. If in a gym environment, you can use a treadmill increasing the speed after every minute until you are beginning to perform a light jog. You could use a stationary bike, a rowing machine or elliptical machine depending on your personal preferences.

The most important aspect here is to increase the intensity gradually and progressively. Rush too soon and the body will be unprepared for the next phase of the warm up. Conversely, performing this phase of the warm up at a low intensity will also have a negative effect on the next phase.

Guidelines on this phase of the warm up:

• Take 5 to 10 minutes
• Start with a low intensity and gradually increase speed or difficulty of the movement
• Heart rate should be elevated and if tracking heart rate should be between 50% and 70% of max heart rate. Max heart rate can be found by using the following formula. (220- your age)
• Select the most appropriate method for warming up. If you are running then use the treadmill, use the bike for cycling and so on.
• If you are performing this warm up before swimming, then any method can be used to warm up. You can do skipping, jogging, cycling, or rowing depending on your preference and the equipment at your disposal.

Activate your Muscles

The next step is to “Activate” your muscles. In simple terms, your body’s muscles must now get ready to perform in the session. Depending on the type of session you are going to perform, you will only activate the muscles needed for the upcoming movements in the session.

For example, if you are performing an upper body session in the gym, you will focus on performing exercises relating to your chest, back and shoulders (push ups, scap pull ups and IYTW’s) while also working on trunk activation (flexing, extending and rotation of the body). Trunk activation is a key component of all sessions, be it gym, track, or pool sessions. Performing exercises such as cat/cow, deadbugs, supermans and side planks will activate the muscles in your trunk for any activity. Examples of these exercises can be found on my Instagram page (coach_mulvihill).

Guidelines for performing muscle activation

• Focus on the correct muscle groups and joints of the body based on your session
• Employ slow controlled movements for each muscle group with little to no weight
• Start with a short range of motion and progress the reps to full range of motion. (Full range of motion should not be painful, but muscles could be stiff.)
• Ensure muscles are being moved in all planes of motion (Sagittal, Frontal and Transverse planes)

Muscle activation should lead into the start of your session. In a gym setting, these exercises will be performed prior to you starting your first exercise. An example here would be leg swings (a sagittal plane movement), followed by crab walks (a frontal plane movement) and next the kneeling fire hydrant exercise
(transverse plane movement). These exercises would then lead into a lower body or squat session in a gym setting.

Again, this stage should not be rushed as rushing through this stage can lead to having impaired performance and potentially lead to injuries.

For other training sessions, muscle activation will be prior the start of the session. By this I mean the exercises are done for to warm up the body but may not relate specifically to the movements being performed in the session. For example when swimming, there is little transverse movement but multiple sagittal and frontal movements. The exercises done should encompass the whole body, as running, cycling, swimming, and rowing sessions will involve all muscle groups of the body. More emphasis can be placed on the lower body for running and cycling. Swimming and rowing sessions must incorporate the whole body as shoulders and hips share the workload in these sessions.

Potential Exercises that can be performed in this phase

• Lunge with Rotation
• Inchworm to Push up to Hip opener
• IYTW’s
• Cat/Cow
• Supermans
• Deadbugs

I hope you found this blog post educational and if you liked it, head over to my Instagram for the videos to the above exercises.

                                                                                                                                    Adam