Practising a sporting activity is a situation that forces the body to wake up from its current state to work. To do this, it needs time to prepare itself to avoid injury due to lack of preparation. The practitioner needs to practice certain techniques to warm up before getting down to business. The warm-up is an integral part of a practitioner's exercise or workout.
Just as at the beginning of workouts, preparations are also needed for the body to move from the state of movement to inertia. It also needs to rest to allow its body to regenerate. What is the importance of warm-up and cool-down in a sport activity? What are the best ways to warm up or to recover? In a few lines, discover the most effective methods in these areas.
Why should you warm up before each training session?
A warm-up helps to prevent the risk of injury. Warming up is necessary to raise the body temperature. When the body is cold, it is not ready to make any effort. Breathing is still slow, the heart is at rest as are the muscles. Through progressive movements, the warm-up will warm up the body little by little and prepare it for more intense activities.
Once warmed up, the muscles, joints and nervous systems are ready to make efforts. The rise in temperature increases the speed of chemical reactions in the body. The transformation of energy reserves into mechanical energy is faster. Also, the joints are lubricated by the heat. The practitioner can then execute larger movements. Flexibility increases and the tendons are more elastic when the body is warmed up. The risk of sprains and strains is therefore lower.
At the cardiac level, the aim of the warm-up is to gradually increase the heart rate. An increase in blood flow occurs, accompanied by an increase in breathing rate. Combined, these increases will allow an irrigation of the muscles and avoid the sensation of asphyxia.
How to warm up properly?
There are two phases in warming up. First of all, there is the general warm-up phase. This consists of gradually increasing the body temperature to give the body greater elasticity and prepare it for intensive efforts. Then there is the specific warm-up. This is a continuation of the general warm-up and is aimed specifically at the muscles directly involved in the activity being performed.
Depending on the duration and intensity of the sports activity to be performed, the warm-up should last between 10 and 30 minutes. To promote blood circulation, the participant should start by massaging the muscles. Starting gently, the speed of the movements should be gradually increased.
Once the massage is over, the practitioner can perform certain movements to warm up the whole body: bending the head, rotating the shoulders, moving the arms, rotating the wrists, bending the legs, bending the knees, rotating the ankles. . .
Recovering well to optimise performance
Recovery is considered an integral part of training. Optimised recovery allows for maximum long-term training and optimised performance of the exerciser. It is simply a physiological state in which the body returns to its baseline state after intense physical effort.
The recovery phase allows the body to regenerate itself by eliminating waste products and toxins accumulated during the physical effort.
The recovery phase is essential whether you are a beginner or a top athlete. It is the most effective method for limiting muscle soreness and for thinking about the next work session. The body needs at least 48 hours to recover after an intense effort. A well adapted diet and a lot of sleep are the allies of the sportsman to allow his body to regenerate more quickly.
How to recover?
Recovery must be both mechanical and physiological. On the one hand, it must allow the joints, muscles and organs to rest. On the other hand, it must allow the body to eliminate waste and replenish its reserves.
During the recovery phase, the exerciser must give great importance to his nutrition. The 30 to 45 minutes after the effort must be followed by a good nutritional intake to allow the body to recharge.
The body must be provided with all the nutrients it needs to compensate for the efforts it has made previously. Carbohydrates, proteins, fats, amino acids, vitamins and minerals are the elements to be taken into account in the recovery diet.
During training sessions, the body has evacuated a lot of water through sweat. At the end of the session, the exerciser may feel thirsty and the body may be dehydrated. It is then necessary to compensate for a water loss that can be around three litres per hour.
As soon as training stops and for at least two hours, water intake must be regular and very important to avoid dehydration.
It is mainly during the night that the body regenerates and heals any injuries resulting from intense physical effort. It is during sleep that fatigue and exhaustion gradually disappear so that when you wake up, you feel in great shape. Sleep is therefore a crucial stage in recovery. To be more productive, the athlete should sleep for at least eight hours. It is better to go to bed before midnight to get more results.
Currently, there are also other so-called active recovery methods. This involves continuing to work, exercising but at low intensity just after resting from intensive work.
This technique is used to evacuate the lactic acid accumulated in the muscles in order to further promote their regeneration. There is also balneotherapy, a method used by top athletes to stimulate blood circulation and eliminate waste and toxins.
