Diet & Fitness Blog

Have a question about your routine or anything fitness-related? Send it Raphael's way at askraphael@ediets.com.


Raphael,

You have given us numerous strength workouts. How and how long should a person warm up before starting these workouts? Can you just “get going” or do you need to do some form of aerobic warm up first? Thanks. -- Kathy

Kathy,

Prior to a strength workout, I recommend five minutes of walking on the treadmill or another form of very light cardio. After that, I recommend a few minutes of very light movement such as the following:

- Neck rolls in each direction for 5 reps
- Arm circles for 10 reps
- Reverse arm circles for 10 reps
- Somewhat of a high march where you bring your knees up (left followed by right , etc.) while pumping the arms forward and back. Perform about 5 reps each side.
- 5 or 10 light jumping jacks

After this, you go into your strength workout but begin with 2-3 warm-up sets with lighter weight than you would normally use in your work sets. For example, if you work with 15-pound dumbbells on an exercise for 10-12 reps, then follow this type of warm-up:

- First, do a warm-up set with 5-pound dumbbells for 12-15 reps
- Second, do a warm-up set with 10 pounds for 12 reps

Then you can begin your first working set. After your working sets are completed on your first exercise, I don’t see the need to keep performing warm-ups for other exercises unless it’s a very challenging exercise such as squats or deadlifts.

That’s about all you need to get the ball rolling with a good warm-up.

The warm-up is important because the body needs time to adjust to what it’s about to perform. Plus, it’s vital to become mentally prepared.

The following further explains why the warm up is critical:

1. Increased Temperature - Temperature increases within the body and muscles during a warm-up. This helps one to better contract muscles during the actual workout.

2. Reduces Chance of Injury – Warming up helps to reduce risk of strains and muscle pulls because the elasticity of the muscle improves.

3. Enhances Performance – During a warm-up, the temperature of blood increases as it runs through the muscles. This means more oxygen is made available to the working muscles, which in turn can improve performance for strength training.

4. Reduces Stress on the Body – Just as getting up in the morning and immediately sprinting would place some quick stress on the heart, so too would beginning your workout at full intensity without any form of warm-up. In essence, the warm-up also lessens an immediate stressful impact to the heart and the entire body.

5. Psychological Preparation – This is more important than people realize. The warm-up is a good time to clear the troubles of the mind, focus on what you want to accomplish and visualize a successful workout. Positive visualization is used by many elite athletes and it’s highly effective to begin using it during the warm-up (as well as the actual workout session).

After the strength training workout, I then recommend stretching both the upper and lower body for 5-10 minutes. Hold each stretch gently for 30-45 seconds, release and repeat. Choose a variety of stretches such as quadriceps stretch, hamstring stretch, chest/shoulder stretch, triceps stretch, lat stretch and calf stretch.

Thanks for submitting your question, Kathy, and I wish you the best of success in achieving your fitness goals!

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