Warming Up: Why and How To

Summary of article

• Warming up may reduce injury risk (1,2)

• Warming up improves performance on subsequent vigorous intensity activity such as sprinting and field sports (3)

• A warmup should be progressive (from low to vigorous intensity), be specific to the goal task, and take 5-10 minutes (3)

Article

Preparing for physical activity, sport, or exercise by “warming up” is a common practice. Typically, warming up may include:

• A cardiovascular warmup (eg. running, swimming, cycling) progressing from low to moderate or vigorous intensity).

• A range of motion warmup, taking muscles and joints to be used through full movement (eg. static or dynamic stretching).

• A specific warmup, where the goal task is practiced with control and at a lower intensity (eg. kicking drills, change of direction drills, etc.)

  
  

Spending time on a warmup is justified by the view that it will reduce risk of injury, improve performance of the task that follows, and aid to manage pain (1). The proposed mechanisms for the benefits include: increased muscle tissue temperature (facilitating improvements in energy production, and muscle contractile ability), improving nerve signalling to muscles, and improved concentration (1,3). However, research in the area is mixed, and benefits of warming up can vary.

Warming Up and Injury Risk

It is a commonly held view that warming up decreases the risk of injury on the exercise or sport that is about to be completed. However, at this time no direct research on this topic exists (1). Studies looking at the ability of a warm up routine to affect injury risk measure injury rates over time, and not on the injuries sustained in the sport or exercise immediately following the warm up. These studies do show that some types of activity, when included in a warm up, can reduce the risk of injury over time (1). However, it has not been determined if this is as a result of short term changes to tissue that reduce injury risk, or the longer term effects of the activity included in the warm up (such as increased muscle cross sectional area, increased muscle fibre length, etc.).

Taking into account the imperfect research in the area, there is still a trend that doing some form of warmup can reduce injury risk, even if the effect is modest (2). This trend is more notable where the warmup is dynamic (ie. jogging, running, twisting) as opposed to static (ie. static stretching) (2).

Warming Up and Performance

When it comes to warming up and performance, there is relatively robust evidence supporting an improvement in performance for vigorous intensity, short duration events:

• In sprint runners (100-400 meters), completing a warmup including jogging, jumping, squats, and sprint efforts, improves subsequent performance by 1-5% (3).

• In sprint cyclists (6-60 seconds) completing a brief, heavy muscle loading task (such as heavy resisted pedalling) results in high peak power outputs on subsequent efforts (3).

• In swimmers, completing a warmup swim of 500 meters to 1200 meters, including a brief race-pace effort, significantly improves subsequent performance (3).

• In rugby, completing a small-sided-games warmups can improve counter movement jump performance, repeated sprint performance, and reactive agility performance (3). However, these warmups should not exceed 16 minutes in length, as continuing beyond this time may result in fatigue beginning to accumulate, negatively impacting subsequent performance (3).

There is relatively little evidence, comparatively, on the effect of warming up on endurance performance (3).

General Warmup Principles

From the evidence that exists currently, some general warmup principles can be derived:

• Be progressive in intensity – The initial warm up intensity should be low. As the warmup progresses, build gradually towards the goal intensity.

• Keep it specific – If you’re cycling, your warmup should include cycling. If you’re lifting a weight, the warmup should include lifting. If you’re playing a change of direction sport, your warmup should include running and change of direction.

• Short and sweet – The positive effects of warming up are attainable with as little as 5-10 minutes, depending on the activity you are preparing for.

Warming Up Examples

To warmup for completing a heavy set of barbell deadlifts (eg. 100kg):

• Complete 1-3 sets of 10 repetitions with the empty barbell (~20kg)

• Complete 1 set of 8 with 50kg

• Complete 1 set of 5 with 80kg

To warm up for vigorous intensity running (eg. 15 km/h):

• Walk at 6 km/h for one minute

• Jog at 9 km/h for 3 minutes – after the first minute, incorporate gentle dynamic movements such as high knee raises, heel kicks, and side stepping

• Run at 12 km/h for 1 minute

To warmup for a game of tennis:

• Walk (~6 km/h) forwards, backwards and side to side on the court, incorporating gentle trunk rotation movements for 1 minute

• Jog (~9 km/h) forwards, backwards and side to side on the court, incorporating gentle racquet swings for 1 minute

• Run (~12 km/h) forwards, backwards and side to side on the court, incorporating gentle racquet swings for 1 minute

• With a partner

  • Mid-court rally for 2 minutes

  • Baseline rally for 2 minutes

  • Practice serving for 2 minutes

In Summary

Current evidence suggests that warming up can improve performance on vigorous intensity activities, and may reduce injury risk (1,2,3). However, more research needs to be completed in order to improve understanding of the benefits to injury risk reduction, and endurance performance (1,3).

When warming up, be specific, keep it short, and build from a low intensity to the intensity of the goal activity.

References

1. Afonso, J., Brito, J., Abade, E., Rendeiro-Pinho, G., Baptista, I., Figueiredo, P., & Nakamura, F. Y. (2024). Revisiting the ‘Whys’ and ‘Hows’ of the Warm-Up: Are We Asking the Right Questions?. Sports Medicine, 54(1), 23-30.

2. Fradkin, A. J., Gabbe, B. J., & Cameron, P. A. (2006). Does warming up prevent injury in sport?: The evidence from randomised controlled trials?. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 9(3), 214-220.

3. McGowan, C. J., Pyne, D. B., Thompson, K. G., & Rattray, B. (2015). Warm-up strategies for sport and exercise: mechanisms and applications. Sports medicine, 45, 1523-1546.