Every so often, I see gym-goers walk up to a treadmill, and start their jogging/running routine within a couple of minutes of arriving at the gym. I am always at a lack of understanding – is it the lack of time to fit in a safety measure or just ignorance? Either one way, they are headed for injury or worse. Warm-ups have a very specific purpose – they prepare the mind and body for what is coming further on in the workout session.
Let me start with what exactly is a warm up and which activities qualify as warm ups and which don’t. Warm is any low intensity, slow-paced activity that may (preferable) or may not resemble your intense and eventual activity but gets the muscles, tissues and organs ready for more intense workout. A warm up may start out slow but it can be increased in pace and intensity finally to match the main workout. In general, the more intense and complex your main workout, the longer your workout should be.