How important is a warm up?

Most trainers firmly believe that a good warm up is essential in reducing the chance of injury and preparing the body for the activities to follow, but has this injury reduction benefit been actually proven in science?

In a research review published in The Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, academics from Monash University in Melbourne reviewed studies that looked to answer this question. Surprisingly over the past 40 years there have only been five studies that looked at the injury reduction benefit of a warm-up.

From the five studies examined, three of the studies supported the use of a warm-up to reduce injury whilst the remaining two did not.

· In the three supprting studies there was a greater emphasis on general exercise to increase body temperature and found that the reduced injury risk was associated with the age and type of activity undertaken.

The warm-ups in the two negative studies were more stretching-based warm-ups

Our thoughts:

We still suggest that you undertake a thorough warm-up before performing exercise that is tailored to what you are about to perform. For example:

• General activity to increase basic body temperature followed by some more specific range of motion stretching that replicates the events to follow.

• Balance / control-related activities to ensure your sensory receptors are prepared for the tasks to follow.

• Gradually increasing intensity becoming more specific and “game like”

• Be 5-20 minutes in total