Prevent Injuries through Proper Warm-up and Stretching

Whether you are an "Industrial Athlete" or just someone wanting to get their body moving more, we all need to take care to warm-up and stretch properly in order to minimize injury. Taking a few minutes to warm up your body before you work, stretch or exercise prepares your nervous system, heightens your mental awareness, lubricates your joints and loosens your muscles; this helps to make you less prone to injury and minimizes the wear and tear on your muscles. It also gives your heart a period to adjust and pumps blood, oxygen and nutritents to your muscles.

A proper warm up should include dynamic movement for 5-7 minutes. This could be walking, jogging, walking on the spot with arm circles, rowing, riding a bike, etc. The choice and pace of activity will depend on your current level of fitness and the level of activity you plan to perform. If you are a beginner, walking should be your first choice. If you work out on a regular basis and consider yourself to be "in shape" you might try slow jogging.

When warming up, you should always start at a gentle pace and then slowly increase the pace until your heart rate increases, your breathing rate increases and your body temperature rises. You will know you are warmed up when you acheive a light sweat (feel clammy). Note: you should feel energergized, NOT exhausted. Remember, this is just the warm-up!

Warming up is absolutely vital for older people, since their muscle tissues are less supple; their joints have less fluid, and generally speaking they have weaker hearts. Sudden exercise can result in heart attacks.

If you are warming up to perform work, stretching can now be done.

Stretching pulls the muscle fibres apart, allowing blood to flow in more easily. Blood carries oxygen and nutrients that the muscles need to perform work. The blood also carries away any lactic acid or other waste products that build up as a result of the muscles performing work. Every stretch should last for at least 30 seconds, with longer stretches (60 - 90 seconds) and repeats (up to 3 repeats) for those muscles that feel particularly tight and/or sore. When stretching you should focus on taking in deep breaths (don't hold your breath) through your nose and out your mouth.

If you are doing an exercise program, after warming up and proceeding to the main workout, it is equally important to cool down.

When a person suddenly stops exercising, your muscles stop pumping blood and your heart is then required to pick up the extra work immediately. If your heart is not able to do this, it could start to beat irregularly or it may not be able to pump enough blood to your brain resulting in dizziness or passing out. So, after exercising, be sure to slow down gradually to protect your heart and keep youself from feeling dizzy.

A proper cool down allows your heart rate and breathing rate to lower to a comfortable level, where talking can be performed with ease. Light aerobic exercise such as walking for 5-10 minutes is good, as it will allow you to hydrate yourself. Put on warm clothing, if needed.

Once the heart rate and breathing rate have decreased, you should proceed to stretching all major muscles, particularly the ones that have just been worked. Stretching after exercise will help to relax and balance tension on the muscles that have just been exercised.

The final aspect of cooling down after exercise involves re-fueling your body. Just as proper nutrition is needed before exercise, the body requires nourishment to repair itself and re-build muscles. Water, minerals, protein and carbohydrates are all needed.

Remember exercise is good for the health. Everyone is encouraged to pump it up, just remember all the necessary precautions not only to maximize the workout, but also to stay safe and healthy.