Why we need to warm up, cool down and stretch when we exercise

So you have mastered a demanding, but effective, cross-training workout! Well done YOU;) But what happens if you don't warm up and cool down and stretch before and after that workout? Why is it so important to do all of those things? Well, I speak from experience when I say, skip the warm up and you'll probably be skipping gym for the next few weeks trying to recover from a strained muscle!

A few months ago we were learning some warm up drills in class. So, in case you don't know what usually happens when you put a bunch of fitness freaks, trainers and sports fanatics together in a room, I'll tell you! They all try to outdo each other;) We ended up timing each other and trying to beat each other's times which was rather silly for a bunch of professionals, given that we hadn't warmed up beforehand! By the end of the first drill I could feel that my thigh wasn't happy. But I stretched it out and carried on. By the third drill, when we had to run a race, I was stopped short, half way through, in agony. Whatever I'd started with the first drill, I'd pretty much driven home by the third drill. I'd pulled a muscle and the only thing that would heal that, was time. That put an end to any lower body workouts for at least 4 weeks, very frustrating for an exercise fanatic...

Stefan Terblanche warming up

THAT is why you need to warm up. If you go from standing still, to doing a jump squat, or even just fast walking, your muscles will get such a shock, you will likely strain something. Even the fittest of rugby players warm up before they run onto the field. No-one is exempt from the need to warm up.

Your body is highly intelligent. When you are just going about your every day life, it is determining exactly where to send blood flow, based on your needs. If you are sitting at a computer, not moving much, it won't be sending a large portion of it to your muscles, it'll be sending more to your digestive system and to your brain. When you exercise, your body sends more blood to your muscles enabling them to exert themselves, loosen up and become more flexible and capable of working effectively. Before you start to warm up, your muscles will be cold, and tight. If you make a sudden movement during that stage, your muscle won't be prepared for it, it'll have no flexibility, and it will, at best, take strain, and at worst, tear. You definitely want to avoid the pain and inconvenience of either of those options.

Another  advantage of warming up is that it improves your reflexes. Nerve impulses travel at a faster rate, at higher temperatures which means you'll be able to move faster, the warmer your muscles get. Increased blood flow also means more oxygen is available because oxygen is transported by the haemoglobin in your blood. More oxygen means more energy and less chance of muscle failure. That means you can work harder and more efficiently.

It's important to do a gradual warm up for obvious reasons. Dive head first into warming up and you will probably injure yourself before you even get to the main event. You don't want to shock your body into sending blood to flow to your muscles too rapidly, you want to slowly encourage it away from your digestive system and into your muscles. Warming up also helps to gradually increase the heart rate and ensure that the demand made on the circulatory and metabolic systems is gradual. It helps to improve neural function and co-ordination. It also signals your body to increase the supply of lubricating synovial fluid in your joints and thickens the articular cartilage which are your body's shock absorbers, something especially useful when you are running or jumping.

So you've warmed up, you've done your exercise and now you're ready to head home? Not yet I'm afraid! You haven't finished your exercise session until you've cooled down and stretched. But what exactly does a cool down mean and why is it so important?

Well, you know all that blood that you sent rushing to your muscles during your exercise? Just because you've stopped exercising doesn't mean it suddenly all resumes whatever it was doing before. It takes a bit of time for your body to realise that the situation has changed and you don't need so much blood going to your muscles anymore. Cooling down gradually awakens your body to the fact that blood is no longer needed in such great supply, in the muscles and it can send it back to the heart to be sent to other places that need it. If you don't cool down, the excess blood is going to just pool in your muscles and you increase your risk of feeling light headed and fainting because of decreased blood flow to the brain. Also, you don't want blood pooling in your legs too often. It can cause damage to the small veins eventually and varicose veins aren't pretty.

Your cool down should be low intensity and gradual as well. If you have been running at a fast pace, you need to gradually bring it down to a nice slow pace over the course of about 5-10 minutes. Keep an eye on your heart rate and your breathing intensity. Once you are breathing normally, and your heart rate is down to about 80-90 beats per minute, you are probably adequately cooled down. But it doesn't end there either. As part of your cool down, you also need to stretch.

There are varying opinions out there about the importance of stretching. In my experience, and according to the study of exercise science, stretching IS of great benefit and necessary to your workout because it reduces the risk of injuries to your muscles in the longterm. Stretching should be done AFTER your workout and not before, unless you are ONLY doing stretching on that day, obviously. Contrary to popular belief, stretching before a workout doesn't add benefit to your workout UNLESS you have an existing injury. In that case, it's a good idea to gently stretch a previously injured muscle if you know it causes problems for you when you exercise. But, the two main reasons you wouldn't stretch all your muscles before a workout is; firstly, because stretching a cold muscle increases the risk of injuring it and secondly, because it slows muscle activation. That means that it will decrease muscle strength for up to an hour after you've stretched (which would basically mean you'd have decreased strength throughout the workout following that stretch). If you want to exercise to the best of your ability, stretching beforehand will hamper your workout by making you weaker.

When you exercise, your muscles contract and shorten. That's why, when you do a bicep curl, you see the raised bump of the muscle during the concentric contraction as in the image below.

Any exercises that you do will shorten your muscles, whether you are doing jumps or bicep curls. Stretching enables you to lengthen those muscles again, after exercise. If you don't stretch, your muscles will get tighter and tighter and, the end result of that, is you lose flexibility and range of motion. The more flexible you are, the easier you will find it to exercise, the less chance there is of you injuring a muscle or joint. There is another, rather important side benefit to stretching: it can significantly reverse hardening of the arteries which decreases risk of a heart attack. Yoga is especially beneficial in this case.

The basic rules of stretching are that you never force a muscle to stretch, you do it slowly and gradually, and only as much as the muscle can handle. Over time, flexibility will improve, but it is a gradual process and shouldn't be forced. Never make any fast movements while stretching. Start it slowly, and end it slowly, easing your muscle back to its original position. I've often seen people bouncing while stretching. Don't do it. There is a good chance of hurting that muscle and you're not really stretching it properly if you bounce. Just pull your muscle gently, and hold it, then ease it back. Rule of thumb is to stretch all the muscles you have worked during a workout, and to hold each stretch for about 15-20 seconds. Stretching shouldn't be a comfortable feeling! The point of it is to stretch a muscle, which is uncomfortable! But it shouldn't be painful. You should just feel the stretch. If you can't feel much, push a little more.

Some basic stretches to get you started

All of this sounds like a mission, but, in reality, doesn't take that long if you work efficiently. Our entire workout, from warm up to stretching, takes us 45 minutes. You shouldn't need to spend hours in a gym. If you are, you're doing something wrong, especially if you aren't seeing any changes. As long as you spend 45 minutes challenging your body in ways it isn't accustomed to, it will reward you by getting fitter, slimmer, stronger and healthier. The key is to working smarter, not harder.

Here's to a fitter, slimmer, stronger, MORE flexible YOU!