Warm Up To Burn More Fat and Perform Better

Life can sometimes feel like a never ending sprint stuck on loop.  Wake up, go to work, go to the gym, return home for dinner, help the kids with their homework, go to bed.  Then we wake up the next day to do it all over again. Often we find ways to make our daily tasks more efficient in order to save time.  Eat breakfast in the car, pay our bills online, or my personal favorite, brush our teeth in the shower!  No matter what we cut out of our day to save time, the one process we should never skimp on when it comes to exercise is our warm up. 

Too often I see gym goers pop onto the workout floor and go directly into their first exercise.  What these individuals don’t know, is not only are they increasing their chances of sustaining an injury from exercise, but they’re also hindering their body’s ability to perform and optimize results. 

A proper warm up can increase your body’s ability to burn fat during aerobic exercise by up to 20%.  Not only is your body tapping into your free fatty acids, but after a warm up now it’s able to pull a larger amount of fat energy from stored muscle triglycerides.  Even if you only have 30 minutes to workout each day, you should dedicate at least 5 to 10 of those minutes warming up.  Your waist line will thank you later!

In addition to the increased fat burning benefit, a proper warm up can also help you increase joint range of motion, delay fatigue, amplify nerve impulse transmission and force contraction, improve aerobic metabolism and oxygen uptake, minimize delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) following exercise, and also help you psychologically feel better during your workout.  All of which will help you perform better and get the most out of your time. 

The Ideal Warm Up Protocol:

• 10 minutes of aerobic activity
• Examples include: walking, jogging, cycling, stair climbing, rowing, etc.
• Every 1-2 minutes, gradually increase the intensity
• This could be from increasing the speed, incline, resistance, etc.
• By the 8^th minute, your rating of perceived exertion (how hard you feel you are working) should be hovering around a 7 or 8 on a scale of 10.
• That means you are sweating, breathing hard, and can feel your muscles working.  You might even feel a slight “burning sensation”.   
• Following this 10 minute cardio warm up, immediately dive into your self myofascial release (SMR) and dynamic stretches
• Examples of SMR include foam rolling or trigger point release with a lacrosse ball
• Examples of dynamic stretches include straight leg kicks, lunges, torso twists, shoulder rotations, etc. 
• Take advantage of your muscle’s new found elasticity to improve mobility and flexibility prior to exercising. 
• Focus on the muscle groups you are about to train, but also include any muscles that are tight or sore.
• Following your dynamic warm ups, proceed to exercise like a champion.

For more Fitness, Nutrition, and Wellness advice contact Paul Wantuck or stop by the Fitness Center to schedule a consultation and get started on the path towards a healthier you!