Hands up who skips warm-up exercises and cool-downs more than leg day? You're not alone. The problem, however, is that they are essential to your workout. We're not just talking about the odd half-hearted calf stretch you'll see in the minutes before your Tuesday night work-league football match, oh no: a well-done warm-up can make the difference between a slow, sore workout and an efficient, effective session.
To paraphrase Benjamin Franklin: fail to prepare, prepare to feel sore and not see the results those who properly warm up and cool down enjoy. Here's how to perfect your fitness prologue and epilogue, with help from the experts.
Why are warm-up exercises important?
“If you’re going to be moving fast, lifting heavy or even just doing something your body doesn’t usually do all day then priming the body for that movement is crucial,” says Lotti Sorrell, founder of Longevity Fitness. “Not only are you switching on muscles that need to be ready to work during your session but you’re switching on your nervous system too – meaning that increased balance and muscle fibre recruitment can all add up to help you hit (or even surpass) your targets.”
Personal trainer Lewis Paris likens a proper warm-up to letting the shower run for a few seconds before getting in. “Giving time to allow your body to be prepped and primed should be a priority,” explains Paris. “Warming up is very important – it helps to reduce the risk of injury by contracting the muscles you want to work, releasing synovial fluid to help lubricate the joints, which allows for a greater range of movement whilst also giving you time to mentally prepare, decompressing thoughts and providing focus for the workout ahead.”
The gradual build-up gives the body a chance to run at full capacity, thereby making your workouts as effective as possible. “We gradually activate the muscles, increasing the blood flow to them. Our heart rate rises gradually and we prepare the joints,” says Jason Smith, founder of Fit in Midlife. “This means we are more ready for the higher intensity workout and because the body is prepared we will get more from it. A good warm-up can also reduce the dreaded post-workout DOMS [delayed onset muscle soreness].”
Don't forget the cool-down
You've warmed up and you've blasted through your workout. Job done? Not quite. A cool-down is almost as important as a warm-up, easing your body out of exercise mode, giving your mind some time to decompress, and shoring up any strains you might've put it through. “Would you jump out of a moving car or do you ensure the car can be stopped appropriately so you can get out safely? I presume the latter!” says Paris. “Allowing time to bring the heart rate back down to pre-exercise levels is important, especially for those who have exerted themselves quite heavily or been diagnosed with a medical condition such as diabetes or high blood pressure.
“By cooling down you prevent blood pooling, decrease the risk of injury, reduce the likeliness of DOMS, increase flexibility through stretching and help with relieving stress.”
Tyrone Brennand, personal trainer and author of Be The Fittest, found tangible gains from adding cool-downs to his routine. “One of the first ways I tried to get more mobile and flexible was by simply stretching out after the workout,” says Brennand. “During workouts, you push the muscles to the point of exhaustion, they tighten up. Cool-downs help with recovery.”
How long should you warm up and cool down for?
Any warm-up should be tailored to the workout, as heavier sessions need more prep. For our experts, however, a good rule of thumb is between five and 20 minutes. “Slowly ramp up your movements throughout this time, so that by the end of your preparation segment your workload should blend seamlessly into your main session,” advises Sorrell. “Ideally, [warm-ups and cool-downs] should always be a seamless part of the workout rather than separate tick boxes to check off throughout the day.”
Cool-downs are typically shorter, lasting between five and 10 minutes. “The main focus is to bring the heart rate back down to rest,” says Paris, “so if you have high blood pressure more time may be needed to bring you back down to normal levels.”
Best warm-up exercises
Warming up for cardiovascular work is as simple as getting moving. While you'll probably want to do some stretching of particular muscles, mimicking the movements you'll employ during your workout is the most efficient way of preparing your body. “You see this a lot with footballers or people that do track work,” says Brennand. “Before they go onto the pitch, you see them running up and down, trying to move the body in certain directions to warm up. If I'm doing a lot of running or circuits, I would do slow warm-ups that move the body in ways appropriate for running: high knees, heels to bum, jog a couple of steps then do a leg kick.”
Smith agrees with Brennand when it comes to knee lifts, and also suggests quickfire warm-up movements like star jumps, running on the spot or an incline treadmill walk, gradually increasing pace and incline.
There's a similar approach for strength training, with a focus on incorporating the movements you'll be running through at full capacity later on. “Perform this movement pattern without weight first, then bring in some element of balance work to get your nervous system firing,” says Sorrell. “This could be a unilateral variation or a variation with some kind of artificial instability added in using resistance bands or a Bosu ball.”
When it comes to full-body and weight sessions, slow and steady is the warm-up key. Take everything down in tempo and weight: slow bodyweight squats, slow press-ups and shoulder rotations are some of Smith's suggestions. “If the first exercise is an overhead squat, I would go into an overhead squat position and stay down,” explains Brennand, “opening up through my pelvis and hips, opening up the shoulders and maybe do a few reps with a light weight. Then I'd start the session, gradually building up to where I want to get to.”
As always, base your warm-up on the workout. “If it's a full-body workout, I start by opening up the spine,” adds Brennand. “A lot of people, when they first wake up, feel they've got a sore or tight back. I do some spinal twists to open up, then I go through my specific needs. If I know I've got tight hamstrings and tight hips, those will be the first things I try to open up through stretching.”
Best cool-down exercises
Similarly to your warm-up, any cool-down should be closely linked to the exercise. Slow it down for a minimum of five minutes – go from a run, to a jog, to a steady walk. Stretching is also important here, as doing this while the muscles are still warm aids in mobility and flexibility long after you've caught your breath again. This can be done without equipment – through passive stretching or breathwork, for instance – or with tools such as a foam roller, massage gun or long bands.
Make sure you don't overdo it, though. “When you stretch and cool down you want to be able to have a good pain,” says Brennand. “It shouldn't be a pain where you feel like you'll break in half and might not be able to walk. There should be no sudden movements, popping sensations or anything that doesn't feel right. If that happens, you should back off.
“If you push beyond your limits you're going to go 20 steps back and defeat the whole purpose of that workout. You're doing this to stay injury-free and have another great workout next session.”
After a strength session, the same rules apply, catering your cool-down to the muscles you've just trained. “For strength training, I warm down by using bodyweight exercises slowly,” says Smith. “Squats for legs, press-ups for pecs, delts and triceps and lightweight rows for back and biceps.” Yoga movements, such as downwards facing dog and forward fold, can also be handy to open up your body after an intense workout.
Tyrone Brennand's guide to a perfect warm-up
Work from the feet all the way up towards the neck via dynamic stretches. It doesn't take more than a few more minutes.
- Ankle circles – put your toes on the floor and create circles with your feet, warming up the ankles in both directions.
- Calf stretch – if you have a step or something to elevate your foot, that's helpful.
- Leg kicks – sometimes I hold onto something or just balance to get my core warm. I'll do that forwards and backwards for hamstrings and hips, then sideways, so I'm getting into the hip and glute area.
- Walking high knees on the spot – bringing the knees up nice and high, warming up the hip flexors.
- Kick your heels up towards the bum, warming up the quads and the joints in the knee.
- Hip circles – holding onto your waist, all the way around one way and then the other.
- From there, go on to upper body – arm circles, creating bigger circles in one direction, then the other.
- Tree hugs – imagine you're hugging a tree with both arms.
- Should rotations, forwards and backwards
- Neck stretches, looking down, up, left and right.
- Warm up the wrists.
