Such a sad sad tragedy... 3 Women killed, 2 women and a man injured. I honestly wonder, how such an accident can happen on a straight street... Car Drivers HAVE to learn to respect us cyclists too!!!
Friday, May 14, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Warm Up ~ Stretching ~ Cool Down
I don't know about you guys, but when I worked out in school or the track team, the golden rule was STRETCH, WARM UP, GET READY FOR THE WORKOUT. Here in Israel, there is another "golden rule": put on your shoes and run, put your goggles on and swim, put the helmet on and bike. Warm up? Stretching? Cool Down???? I don't even know if those words exist in Hebrew. (The exception proves the rule.)
I have a friend who's pretty sporty, going to the gym almost daily, great body and really fit. Once we went to a stretching group together, her the "in shape girl", me the "fat" girl. Guess what, after 5 minutes the coach started smiling at me. Know why? I was the only one who could actually touch her toes while stretching the legs (and yup I had overweight, big time)!!!
When I go for a workout, may it be swimming, biking or running, I always make sure, I'm warmed up and stretched before I start my training and I cool down and stretch after the training to give my body a chance to slowly get "back to normal". (not to mention, not having terrible muscle pain the next day)
Alright. Maybe we just have to explain to our dear fellow sporty Israelis, WHY warm up and stretching are so important. ;)
Have a look at the top 10 Common Causes for Sport Injuries: 10 Most Common Causes for Injury
...
# 6 Not Stretching
Stretching is different from warming up. Properly performed, a stretch helps relax and elongate a muscle after warm up and before and after weight training. As a result of warming up and stretching, the muscle is warm, loose and neurologically alert - in its most pliable and injury resistant state. In addition, stretching between sets actually helps build muscle by promoting muscular circulation and increasing the elasticity of the fascia casing surrounding the muscle. Finally, if you perform muscle specific stretches at the end of your workout, you'll virtually eliminate next day soreness.
# 7 Inadequate Warm Up
Let's define our terms. A warm up is usually a high rep, low intensity, quick paced exercise used to increase blood floor to the muscle. This quick, light movement raises the temperature of the involved muscle while decreasing blood viscosity and promoting flexibility and mobility. How? Everyone knows that a warm muscle with blood coursing through it is more elastic and pliable than a cold, stiff muscle. Riding a stationary bike, jogging, swimming, stair climbing and some high rep weight training are recommended forms of warm up.
Try a 5-10 minute formalized warm up before stretching. If you choose high rep weight training, try 25 ultralight, quick reps in the following nonstop sequence: calf raise, squat, leg curl, crunch, pull down, bench press and curl. Do one set each with no rest between sets. This can be accomplished in fewer than five minutes and warms every major muscle in the body.
Why athletes warm up: (from: Wikipedia )
Athletes not only warm up to physically prepare their bodies for training or competition but also to mentally warm themselves up. Warm ups are a crucial part of performance. If completed correctly they enable the body to perform at its peak performing ability at the current time. There are three different types of warm ups; gradual increase of physical activity to raise the pulse (Eg. cycling), a joint mobility exercise, stretching and a sport related activity (Eg. dribbling for basketball). A warm up should be specific to the task required to perform in order to activate the correct energy systems and prepare the correct muscles. There are many beneficial effects from warm ups including; • Increased heart rate. This enables oxygen in the blood to travel faster meaning the muscles fatigue slower, also, the synovial fluid between the joints is produced more to reduce friction in the joints, the capillaries dilate and it lets more oxygen travel in the blood. • Higher temperature in the muscles. This decreases the thickness of the blood-letting the oxygen travel to different parts of the body quicker, it also decreases the viscosity within the muscle, removes lactic acid, lets the muscles fibres have greater extensibility and elasticity and an increase in force and contraction of muscles.
Now, shall we have a look at a few stretching exercises?
I have a friend who's pretty sporty, going to the gym almost daily, great body and really fit. Once we went to a stretching group together, her the "in shape girl", me the "fat" girl. Guess what, after 5 minutes the coach started smiling at me. Know why? I was the only one who could actually touch her toes while stretching the legs (and yup I had overweight, big time)!!!
When I go for a workout, may it be swimming, biking or running, I always make sure, I'm warmed up and stretched before I start my training and I cool down and stretch after the training to give my body a chance to slowly get "back to normal". (not to mention, not having terrible muscle pain the next day)
Alright. Maybe we just have to explain to our dear fellow sporty Israelis, WHY warm up and stretching are so important. ;)
Have a look at the top 10 Common Causes for Sport Injuries: 10 Most Common Causes for Injury
...
# 6 Not Stretching
Stretching is different from warming up. Properly performed, a stretch helps relax and elongate a muscle after warm up and before and after weight training. As a result of warming up and stretching, the muscle is warm, loose and neurologically alert - in its most pliable and injury resistant state. In addition, stretching between sets actually helps build muscle by promoting muscular circulation and increasing the elasticity of the fascia casing surrounding the muscle. Finally, if you perform muscle specific stretches at the end of your workout, you'll virtually eliminate next day soreness.
# 7 Inadequate Warm Up
Let's define our terms. A warm up is usually a high rep, low intensity, quick paced exercise used to increase blood floor to the muscle. This quick, light movement raises the temperature of the involved muscle while decreasing blood viscosity and promoting flexibility and mobility. How? Everyone knows that a warm muscle with blood coursing through it is more elastic and pliable than a cold, stiff muscle. Riding a stationary bike, jogging, swimming, stair climbing and some high rep weight training are recommended forms of warm up.
Try a 5-10 minute formalized warm up before stretching. If you choose high rep weight training, try 25 ultralight, quick reps in the following nonstop sequence: calf raise, squat, leg curl, crunch, pull down, bench press and curl. Do one set each with no rest between sets. This can be accomplished in fewer than five minutes and warms every major muscle in the body.
Why athletes warm up: (from: Wikipedia )
Athletes not only warm up to physically prepare their bodies for training or competition but also to mentally warm themselves up. Warm ups are a crucial part of performance. If completed correctly they enable the body to perform at its peak performing ability at the current time. There are three different types of warm ups; gradual increase of physical activity to raise the pulse (Eg. cycling), a joint mobility exercise, stretching and a sport related activity (Eg. dribbling for basketball). A warm up should be specific to the task required to perform in order to activate the correct energy systems and prepare the correct muscles. There are many beneficial effects from warm ups including; • Increased heart rate. This enables oxygen in the blood to travel faster meaning the muscles fatigue slower, also, the synovial fluid between the joints is produced more to reduce friction in the joints, the capillaries dilate and it lets more oxygen travel in the blood. • Higher temperature in the muscles. This decreases the thickness of the blood-letting the oxygen travel to different parts of the body quicker, it also decreases the viscosity within the muscle, removes lactic acid, lets the muscles fibres have greater extensibility and elasticity and an increase in force and contraction of muscles.
Now, shall we have a look at a few stretching exercises?
These are just a few ideas, on how to stretch.
Cool Down
5 to 10 minutes jogging/walking - try to get your heart rate down to "close to resting pulse".
Remember:
Never be in a hurry to get a workout done, therefore skip the warm up or stretching. This is your HEALTH..... you've only got one body, regard it with the uttermost respect!
Warm Up, Stretch and after the workout Cool Down. Your body will be grateful! ;)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)