PREPARING FOR TRAINING

In the last couple of articles I wrote about the most common causes of injuries during training. But the most fundamental principle before anyone starts a training program is to understanding the terms warm up and stretching/flexibility. Generally people understand that both these are one and the same principles.

Often I have observed the trainees start off with swinging the limbs, start running and do vigorous movements or just start lifting weights. Lack of proper warm up and incorrect methods of stretching lead to injury. There are basically two ways of warming up the body, general and specific. One way is to do a general warm-up, where the whole body is put through different range of movements. The second way is to focus on specific muscle warm-up, which is going to be targeted for training.

WARM UP

Let's understand our terms. A warm up is usually a high repetition, low intensity, focused and quick-paced activity/exercise used to increase blood flow 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 flowing through it is more elastic and pliable than a cold, stiff muscle. Riding a stationary bicycle, jogging, skipping, stair climbing and some high repetition weight training are recommended forms of warm up.

For example, try this 5-10 minute formalized warm up before stretching. If you choose high rep weight training, try 25 ultra-light, quick reps in the following nonstop sequence: calf raise, squat, leg curl, crunch, lat. 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.

The warm up should be able to raise the body temperature without making the individual too tired. The warm up is an important factor in the prevention injuries to the muscle fibers.

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 circulation in the muscle and increasing the elasticity of the thin sheet of fibrous tissue casing surrounding the muscle.

FLEXIBILITY

Flexibility is the range of possible movement in a single joint (such as the shoulder joint or a series of joints (such as the joints of the spine). The stretch acquired is related to the flexibility of the individual joints.

Basically there are two type of stretching, static and dynamic. Broadly defined Static stretch is the range of movement that can be maintained in a joint in a fixed position. Dynamic stretch is the range of movement that is attained momentarily in a joint during the course of an action or technique.

Proprioceptive neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF). This is another technique which is not commonly known or used, may be because it sounds too complicated and knotted. In fact it is a very simple principle. This makes use of the body's own safety mechanism to increase the range of movement in a joint.

PNF stretches a muscle during its relaxation phase, immediately after it has been contracted. To apply this principle, you must strongly contract those muscles that resist the range of movement in a joint. When the muscles relax afterwards, they lengthen more readily than usual resulting in the increase of the range of movement.