Warming Up: The Key to Reducing the Risk of Injury
By: Wesley Chan, PT, DPT
Why Warming Up Matters
Warming up before exercise is essential. It reduces the risk of injury and enhances performance. A proper warm-up should be dynamic, simple, and low-intensity. It will raise your body temperature, optimize your body’s access to nutrients, and prepare your muscles for action. A good warm-up gets you moving and raises your heart rate. Be sure to choose dynamic, flowing movements such as:
Light jogging or marching in place
Jumping jacks or side steps
Butt kicks or prone knee bends
Leg swings or side leg raises
These simple exercises are accessible to all and provide an effective way to prepare your body for the challenges ahead. If you choose to include static stretching in your warm-up routine, keep two key guidelines in mind. First, always follow static stretches with dynamic movements to properly activate your muscles. Second, limit each static stretch to no more than 60 seconds. Studies have shown that exceeding this duration can negatively impact performance.
How Warming Up Works
Increase Blood Circulation
Dynamic movements push more blood through your muscles, delivering oxygen and glucose faster and flushing out waste like lactic acid. Li et al. found that track athletes who did dynamic warm-ups saw faster sprint times and higher jumps compared to peers who did static stretches. This early boost in circulation jumpstarts your body’s systems before you hit the higher intensity workouts!
Increase in Body Temperature
As cells work harder, they produce heat. This heat builds up and raises your overall temperature. Warm muscles, tendons, and ligaments become more pliable. Think of warm taffy stretching versus cold taffy snapping. Esteban-Garcia et al. demonstrated that athletes using dynamic stretches gained greater mobility and power in strength tests, thanks to that extra tissue “softening.”
Neuromuscular Activation
Your brain and muscles communicate with each other via nerves. A dynamic warm-up allows for repeated signals to travel back and forth between targeted muscle groups and the brain. Those repeated signals can improve the short-term and long-term communication performance
between the brain, nerves and muscle groups so they can work together like an experienced team. Schleper et al. reported that hockey players who performed dynamic warm-up routines generated higher peak power and anaerobic output than those who skipped warming up. As
your muscles get better at working together, they become more powerful and better able to stretch and stabilize.
Personalized Warm-Up Plans
Dynamic warm-ups are a crucial component of any exercise program. They prepare you for action by increasing your body temperature, firing up your muscle groups, and optimizing nutrient delivery. Whether you’re lifting, running, or playing sports, give yourself those few minutes to get ready to go!
At POST PT, our physical therapists can design a warm-up that fits your goals and needs. They can help you target the right muscles and eliminate the guesswork for safer, stronger workouts.
References
1. Behm, D. G., Alizadeh, S., Daneshjoo, A., & Konrad, A. (2023). Potential effects of dynamic stretching on injury incidence of athletes: A narrative review of risk factors. Sports Medicine, 53, 1359–1373. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-023-01847-8
2. Li, F. Y., Guo, C. G., Li, H. S., Xu, H. R., & Sun, P. (2023). A systematic review and net meta-analysis of the effects of different warm-up methods on the acute effects of lower limb explosive strength. BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation, 15, 106. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13102-023-00703-6
3. Esteban-García, P., Abián-Vicen, J., Sánchez-Infante, J., Ramírez-de-la-Cruz, M., & Rubio-Arias, J. A. (2024). Does the inclusion of static or dynamic stretching in the warm-up routine improve jump height and ROM in physically active individuals? A systematic review with meta-analysis. Applied Sciences, 14(9), 3872.
https://doi.org/10.3390/app14093872
4. Schleper, A., Ewharekuko, M. E., Scribbans, T., Anzalone, R., & Villar, R. (2021). Effects of dynamic warm-up on anaerobic performance: A randomized, counterbalanced, cross-over study. Research in Sports Science, 11(2), 39–46.
https://doi.org/10.5152/rss.2021.21007
5. Behm, D. G., Blazevich, A. J., Kay, A. D., & McHugh, M. (2016). Acute effects of muscle stretching on physical performance, range of motion, and injury incidence in healthy active individuals: A systematic review. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 41(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1139/apnm-2015-0235
