Why Is Warm Up and Cool Down Important?

Warm up and cool down are the most neglected aspects of exercise. These are

usually ignored due to lack of time. Skipping warm up and cool down can result

in increased risk of injuries, increased load on the cardiovascular system and

blood pooling in the lower limbs.

Advantages of Warm Up:

1. Reduced risk of injury

Stretching, as a part of your warm up exercises will help in reducing the

risk of injuries. Stretching helps in improving muscle flexibility and thus

maintaining the range of motion of joints. Thus, stretching effectively with

a hold time of 20 seconds can help reduce muscle and joint injuries.

2. Increased Blood flow and Oxygen

Warm up helps in improving the blood flow to the muscular system, by

increasing the heart rate gradually. This improved blood supply helps in

increasing the oxygen supply to the muscles. This results in raised body

temperature, causing effective and faster muscle contraction and

relaxation.

3. Reduced risk of Cardiovascular Injuries

Warm up helps in gradually increasing the heart rate and body

temperature. Thus, reducing the load on the cardiovascular system.

4. Mental Preparation

Warm up also gives you time to mentally prepare yourself for the work

out. It helps you focus on the coming training and can in turn help you

drive through a difficult training session.

5. Improved Performance

Warming up has shown to improve performance by increasing blood flow

and oxygen to the musculoskeletal system and reducing the risk of

injuries.

Advantages of Cool Down:

1. Recovery

Exercises result in lactic acid build up in the muscles. Stretching, as a part

of cool down, aids in flushing out the lactic acid and thus preventing

muscle cramps, muscle soreness and stiffness.

2. Injury prevention

Cool down also reduces the risk of injury by maintaining muscle

extensibility, by stretching.

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