Don’t Skip The Warm-Up or Cool-Down!
You’ve probably been told not to, and yet you’ve probably done it countless times... skipped your warm-up or cool-down (citing lack of time as the primary reason). The warm-up and cool down are actually important parts of a workout routine. Not only do they help you get the most out of your session, but they also reduce risk of injury. When you’re already investing so much time and energy into your sport, why would you NOT want take advantage of your full performance capabilities?
Warm-ups generally involve doing your sport but at a reduced intensity level, helping your body prepare for the activity. Physiologically speaking, it revs up your cardiovascular system by dilating blood vessels and increasing core temperature, heart rate and blood flow to muscles. At the initial onset of exercise, your heart rate abruptly increases due to a complex series of reactions from your nervous system. It requires at least a few minutes to normalize back to a steady state rate.
Cool-downs are equally as important. An abrupt stop can cause lightheadedness, as your blood pressure and heart rate can drop rapidly. A proper warm-up and cool-down may add a few extra minutes to your workout, but it decreases the stress on your heart and muscles and can greatly reduce risk of injury and adverse reaction during exercise.
There are various ways to warm-up and cool-down for each sport, but the principles are essentially the same. Especially for a sport that can involve more than one training session a day, it’s important to get that warm-up and cool-down in between.
For a generally easy session, it’s recommended to spend a good 5-10 minutes warming into the activity. For higher intensity workouts, 10-15 minutes. A cool-down of 5-10 minutes is also adequate enough to let the heart rate come down while allowing blood flow to continue through the muscles. We’re sharing a few tips for a proper warm-up for both cycling and running, to help you get the most out of your sessions.
CYCLING
On the bike, warm-up for 10-15 minutes at 40-60% of your threshold power or effort. Feel free to throw in some short high cadence spin-ups to get the legs and heart going before any intensity in the main set. This is also a good time to incorporate drills (i.e. cadence work, single leg drills) to improve pedaling efficiency.
RUNNING
Because running is a weight-bearing sport, it puts a lot more stress on the body than cycling. A proper run warm-up will typically consist of mobility and muscle activation activities (see below) and 10-15 minutes of easy, aerobic running. For a speed or high intensity workout, include more dynamic form drills such as high knees, butt kicks, various types of skips and side shuffles.
So, what’s the deal with all this talk of mobility and muscle activation? Well, if you’re like most of us, you probably spend a good chunk of your day sitting. That can equate to short muscles on the front of the hip (hip flexors) and inhibited muscles on the backside (glutes). Our glutes are huge power generators while running and are important for stability up and down the kinetic chain. When we sit, not only are they inactive, but they also have decreased blood flow to the tissues. For some, these muscles need extra attention to wake-up before going out for that run. Below are three great exercises to improve hip mobility and glute activation pre-run.
Lunge Matrix Stretch
This is a good, dynamic stretch to open up the hip in all planes of motion. Start off with a lunge to the front. With your arms, reach down then up, side bend right and left, and then rotate to the right and left. Repeat the same arm movements while lunging out to the side.
Side Steps with Band
Keeping knees slightly bent, toes pointed forward and feet parallel, step out to the side and follow with the other foot, keeping tension in the band at all times. You’ll want to feel the muscles on the outside/back of the hip working. For one level easier, place the band just above the knees and keep those knees in line with your toes. For one step harder, place the band around your toes and work on keeping your knees in line and feet parallel.
Standing Fire Hydrants
This is a great two-for-one exercise, targeting glutes on the standing leg, and glutes on the moving leg. With a resistance band just above the knees, stand on one leg and bend the opposite knee. Open up that knee out to the back corner, mimicking what a dog does when he needs to go to the, well, you know. Be sure you have a soft bend in your standing leg and that your knee isn’t locked out.
