Warm up (sport)
The warm , even warm-up is, of athletes before exercise or competitions practiced to primarily the muscles to prepare for the stress and athletic performance and to increase the risk of injury to mitigate. It is mainly done through active exercises such as running in , stretching and relaxing.
For information on warming up the horse while riding, see Riding .
species
A distinction is made between different types of warming up: On the one hand, general and special warming up, and on the other hand, active, passive and mental warming up.
The general warm-up should make the body efficient overall. This is done through exercises that serve to warm up the large muscle groups, for example running in or cycling. When warming up, about five minutes at a brisk pace are enough to get the cardiovascular system going. This is usually followed by a ten-minute combination of stretching and strengthening exercises ( functional gymnastics, stretching). Excessive stretching should be avoided, as this reduces muscle tone , which makes rapid strength development and movements difficult.
In the case of special (also sport-specific , local or targeted ) warm-up, on the other hand, special movements such as light muscle exercises and precise stretching exercises heat exactly those muscles that are particularly needed for the respective sport or exercise. Exercises such as warming up or shooting in are refreshed and adapted to the current conditions, including the special features of the equipment or the system . Familiarizing yourself with, for example, the nature of the ground or the lighting conditions can then also be used to choose the right equipment for the competition.
When actively warming up , the athlete performs movements practically. As a result, up to a six-fold increase in blood flow can be achieved.
Passive warming up, on the other hand, takes the form of massages , exposure to the sun and hot showers, and by itself hardly contributes to an increase in performance or injury prophylaxis, as it does not heat the target muscles sufficiently and does not supply blood. Rather, it serves as additional preparation for the body, such as loosening tense muscles .
During the mental warm-up , the athlete simply imagines the exercises or the competition. This usually does not lead to physical adaptation processes, or only to a minor extent, but can be of great effect , especially in technical disciplines such as gymnastics and athletics in combination with active warm-up. In other disciplines, too, it can be advisable to integrate relaxation exercises into the warm-up program before the psychological strain of a competition.
scope
Warm-up time
The optimal warm-up time is generally 20 to 45 minutes. The actual sporting activity should then be started within five to ten minutes after the warm-up, because the muscle temperature is maintained for that long and the full effect of the warm-up is retained. After that, the effect of warming up slowly disappears and is no longer detectable after about 45 minutes. The speed of heat loss depends, among other things, on the movement and clothing.
The effectiveness of the warm-up work depends not only on the duration, but also on the intensity. However, too extensive a warm-up leads to over-acidification of the muscles and thus to impairment of their performance and should therefore be avoided.
Special warm-up should always be done after the general warm-up. The load should be gradually brought closer to the target performance.
Factors
The concrete appropriate warm-up time and the intensity and type of warm-up exercises can only be determined through personal experience and assessment of the athlete himself. They depend on various factors, such as the respective sport, age, level of training, physique and the attitude of the athlete, but also on the time of day and climatic conditions. The warm-up can therefore also be designed very differently within the same sport.
First of all, the warm-up should be geared towards the requirements of the respective sport . Those with high demands on mobility require more stretching, endurance sports more exercises to increase cardiopulmonary performance. An endurance athlete also has to warm up longer than a player who still has the option of a certain start-up time during the competition.
The risk of injury increases with age, which is why older people should warm up more carefully and longer.
The fitness level of the athlete is also decisive. Too intense a warm-up for an untrained athlete or a new warm-up program for a trained athlete can lead to so much fatigue that his performance deteriorates and the risk of injury is increased.
Furthermore, the mental attitude can influence the warm-up. High motivation and a strong focus on performance can increase the effect of the warm-up ( pre-start state ), a negative attitude slows it down.
Another factor is the time of day. The physical performance increases during almost the entire day. After waking up, it takes a certain amount of time for the various body functions to achieve their maximum efficiency. So the morning warm-up will take more time than a later time. The outside temperature and other climatic conditions also affect the course of the warm-up process. High air temperatures shorten the warm-up time, rain and cold lengthen it.
Physiological basics
The work of large muscle groups, especially during the general warm-up, leads to an increase in the core body temperature , which, according to the RGT rule, also increases the speed of the metabolic processes . The increased temperature leads to an increase in aerobic and anaerobic enzyme activities , which is important for substrate processing. The increased blood flow also ensures an improved substrate and oxygen supply. The increased excitability of the central nervous system leads to a faster reaction and contraction speed , the greater sensitivity of the sensory receptors to increased coordinative performance. The muscles, tendons and ligaments also become more elastic due to the increased body temperature (reduced muscle viscosity), which reduces the susceptibility to muscle fiber , tendon and ligament tears .
The dosed stress on the joints when warming up increases the production of synovia . The hyaline articular cartilage becomes thicker, which means that pressure and shear forces are better absorbed. This increases the resilience of the joints, which can then cope better with peak loads, and the risk of injury decreases.
The increase in cardiac output and respiratory time as well as the increase in the circulating blood volume and blood pressure through warming up can be decisive, especially in endurance disciplines. Without warming up, these effects only occur with a performance-reducing start delay. Warming up can help to keep this as low as possible and to reach a steady state sooner .
The general active warm-up also leads to an increase in mental performance . There is an activation of central structures and thus an increased wakefulness and improved perception.
While the general warm-up generally mobilizes the blood and increases the body's core temperature, the special warm-up specifically increases the blood supply to the work muscles, supplies them with oxygen and substrates and brings them to working temperature. The redistribution of the blood in the working muscles, in conjunction with parallel capillarization and increased enzymatic activity, enables them to achieve maximum metabolic performance.
A body that has not been warmed up is significantly less efficient in terms of sensory, motor and coordination. The responsiveness of the muscle spindles is significantly reduced there and the skin receptors for pressure and touch are also much less sensitive at lower temperatures. If the working muscles do not receive enough oxygen in the initial phase of the exercise and thus the rate of acidic metabolic products increases, it can lead to side stitches and premature fatigue.
More concepts
The counterpart to warming up is the cool down (or cooling down ), with which the circulation is to be shut down again after the end of the load with exercises similar to the warming up.
A contrary concept to warming up is precooling , in which the body is cooled down instead of warmed up in preparation for athletic performance, especially at high ambient temperatures. The cooling takes place, for example, with cold water or cooling clothing . The concept was largely developed in the course of the Olympic Games in 1996 , 2000 and 2004 , which were held in a warm climate, and has only slowly found acceptance among sports scientists since then.
literature
- Jarmo Ahonen, Tiina Lahtinen, Marita Sandström, Giuliano Pogliani: Sports medicine and training theory. 2nd Edition. Schattauer, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-7945-2226-5 .
- Wolfgang Friedrich: Optimal sports knowledge. Basics of sports theory and sports practice for school. 1st edition. Spitta Verlag, Balingen 2005, ISBN 3-934211-91-7 .
- Jürgen Weineck : Sports biology. 9th edition. Spitta Verlag, Balingen 2004, ISBN 3-934211-83-6 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Jürgen Weineck: Sports biology. 2004, p. 570.
- ^ Wolfgang Friedrich: Optimal sports knowledge. 2005, p. 201.
- ↑ a b c J. Ahonen et al: Sports medicine and training theory. 2003, p. 104.
- ^ Wolfgang Friedrich: Optimal sports knowledge. 2005, p. 203.
- ↑ Jürgen Weineck: Sports biology. 2004, p. 576.
- ↑ Jürgen Weineck: Sports biology. 2004, p. 574f.
- ↑ Jürgen Weineck: Sports biology. 2004, pp. 571-574.
- ↑ Sandra Ückert: Temperature and athletic performance. Meyer & Meyer, Aachen 2012, ISBN 978-3-89899-665-5 , p. 67.