5. Topics to be covered
1) Why warm up?
2) What happens when you
warm up?
3) How should you warm up?
6. Jones AM, Koppo K, Burnley M. Effects of prior
exercise on metabolic and gas exchange
responses to exercsie. Sports Med 2003; 33:949971.
Bishop D. Warm up I: potential mechanisms and
the effects of passive warm up on exercise
performance. Sports Med 2003; 33:439-454.
Bishop D. Warm up II: performance changes
following active warm up and how to structure
the warm up. Sports Med 2003; 33:483-498.
7. Why warm up?
1) To prevent injury
2) To psychologically prepare for
competition
3) To physiologically prepare for
competition
8. Why NOT warm up?
1) Inconvenient
2) Because performance may actually
be impaired due to:
A) residual fatigue
B) hyperthermia
C) glycogen depletion
9. What happens when you warm up?
Tm and Tr
↔ muscular strength
muscular viscosity
(slight)
speed of muscle
contraction
maximal power
(+10% per °C when
cycling at 140 rpm)
HR, Q, and muscle
blood flow
overall speed of VO2
kinetics
primary VO2 gain
VO2 slow component
decline in muscle pO2
glycogenolysis
lactate accumulation
iEMG
10. Effect of “priming” exercise on
VO2 kinetics: upright vs. supine
Jones AM et al. J Appl Physiol 2006; 101:1432-1441
12. Different types of warm up
1) Passive vs. active
2) Specific vs. non-specific
3) “Scripted” vs. “free form”
13. Effects of passive warm up on
performance
1) Event duration ≤10 s: performance improved
by up to 6%
2) Event duration 10 s to 5 min: performance not
improved or may be impaired
3) Event duration ≥5 min: performance not
improved or may be impaired
14. Effects of active warm up on
performance
1) Event duration ≤10 s: performance improved
by up to 6%
2) Event duration 10 s to 5 min: variable results
3) Event duration ≥5 min: variable results
15. Bishop’s recommendations for
warm up
1) Duration: 10-20 min
2) Intensity: 60-70% of VO2max (75-85% of
functional threshold power)
3) Recover for ≥5 min but ≤20 min
4) Performance may be further improved by
insertion of brief, non-fatiguing bursts of a
task-specific nature.
16. Factors influencing how much (if any)
warm up is optimal
1) The athlete
2) The environment
3) The competition
17. Different types of warm up
1) Passive vs. active
2) Specific vs. non-specific
3) “Scripted” vs. self-selected
18. Sample “scripted” warm up used by
German track cycling team
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
20 min at “basic training” intensity
5 min at “evolution training” intensity
20 min active recovery (self-selected intensity)
5 min at “evolution training” intensity
10 min at “basic training” intensity
20 min of rest or active recovery
Where:
“Basic training” = 50-60% of VO2max (65-75% of functional threshold power)
“Evolution training” = “Cadence-orientated track training with intensities around
the anaerobic threshold”
Schumacher YO, Mueller P . The 4000-m team pursuit cycling world record:
theoretical and practical aspects. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2002; 34:1029-1036
19. Advantages of a “scripted” warm up
1) Assures adequate warm up
2) Can be confidence-inspiring
20. Disadvantages of a “scripted” warm up
1) Does not account for
athlete, environment, or
competition
2) Can undermine athlete’s
confidence if unable to
execute as planned
21. Variations in self-selected warm up
among experienced cyclists
Palmer CD et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2009; 41:221-229
22. Effect of warm up on performance:
individual differences
Palmer CD et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2009; 41:221-229
26. Summary and conclusions
1) Warm up may or may not improve
performance.
2) Significant improvements in
performance are more likely in short
and intermediate vs. longer events.
27. Summary and conclusions (con’t)
3) Improvements in performance over
short durations likely due to
increase in muscle temperature.
4) Improvements in performance over
intermediate durations likely related
to increased aerobic energy
production early in exercise due to
reduced “metabolic inertia”.
28. Summary and conclusions (con’t)
5) Individuals may differ in how much
warm up they require, and/or in
how they need to warm up.
6) A self-selected warm up strategy
may be just as effective as a
“scripted” approach.
29. Summary and conclusions (con’t)
7) Warm up may impair performance if
it results in residual fatigue,
hyperthermia, and/or premature
glycogen depletion.
8) IOW, more is not always better!
Left panel = raw data from individual experiments, right panel = fitted curves
Note increased contribution from aerobic metabolism during 2nd and especially 3rd “sprint bout” (30 s Wingate-style effort)
Passive = external heating (sauna, whirlpool, heating pad, etc). Active = exercise (either same mode, i.e., specific, or different mode, i.e., non-specific).
Improved performance during short-duration events likely due to increased Tm
Note that 1) active warm-up seems to shift the duration at which warm-up might be beneficial upwards, but 2) whether warm-up improves or impairs performances at durations >10 s is still not entirely clear.
One possible mechanism accounting for the beneficial effect of #4 may be a reduction in glycogen utilization and hence lactate accumulation at the onset of competition, especially in type II (fast twitch) muscle fibers (which would not be heavily recruited during #2).
Moving away from science and on to art…
#1 and #2 as previously defined. “Scripted” means following a pre-selected plan.
Note the general similarities between this warm-up “script” and Bishop’s recommendations.
The value of point #2 should not be overlooked, especially when dealing with relatively inexperienced athletes.
Note the extremely wide variation between individuals in the overall duration as well the structure of their self-selected approach to warm-up
Note 1) the differing extent to which individuals benefitted (either physiologically or psychologically) from either a scripted (“prior heavy exercise”) or a self-selected warm-up, and 2) that self-selected was, on average, just as good.
The differences in performance were, as expected, due to differences in aerobic energy production early in exercise. This is shown in the left panel by the more rapid increase in VO2 to maximum, and in the right panel in terms of the power this represented.
An interesting comparison: despite preparing for exactly the same event, the captain (who lives at altitude) chose to warm-up on his single bike in “free form” fashion, whereas the stoker (who lives at/near sea level) chose to warm-up on a trainer using a “scripted” approach
The legendary John Fry and former masters national champion Randy Corcoran, who finished 10 s behind us…did they warm-up too little or too much, or did how they warmed-up make no difference to the outcome of the race??