The little I know about the warm-up

The little I know about the warm-up

My earliest memories as an athlete are not of the stadiums or the races, the victories or the losses but the simple grass track where I trained. From those first days it was clear that there was a brotherhood which connects the training group. There was a sense of unity against the pain and affliction regularly distributed by the coach in copious and often excessive amounts. The warm-up was our antebellum. A moment to contemplate, to reflect and to ponder what lay in wait mere minutes in the future. But this time was ours, to laugh and joke and ‘warm-up’ in preparation for training.

Although this was my experience with the warm-up, I am convinced that this was not a unique set of events. Warm-ups have been part of sport for as long as people have realised that some form of preparation may provide an optimal starting block; a point at which the body is ready to undertake physical activity. The generic warm-up was often expressed as a period of time to do what was needed to prepare for whatever it was that needed to be prepare for. Though in many cases I can understand, if not sympathize with an athlete’s lack of enthusiasm for this event. In popular sports, football, rugby and distance running, the athlete competes in most cases at a submaximal level. This allows for more gradual build up and longer maintenance of capacity with less emphasis on an optimal moment.

This is not the case with sprinters. Earlier I spoke of maximal potential. This is an individual’s ability to perform at their optimal capacity over a period of time. Where sprinting differs from other sports is that the period for maximal potential is very small where minute deficiencies have huge effects, hundredths of a second in some cases. Preparation is a vital component in achieving this maximal potential. Every athlete has a unique make up and ultimately this needs to be tailored to suit their individual needs. What is certain is that a generic warm-up is not good enough in this day and age. Our current knowledge on muscle function and physiology is closely linked with our desire to perform at ever higher levels. The problem which we unfortunately create is which of these ideas of the current batch of forward thinkers is correct, as controversy is never far behind. The long and short of it is that it is hard to separate the wheat from the chaff. New ideas based on sound research are like a mirage; they come and disappear, leaving confusion and misperception, often for years after something better has been though into existence.

The following pages attempt to unravel the questions of the warm-up. Up to date research is used to discuss this question and determine the appropriate practice to develop a physical preparation to maximise potential prior to activity.

'The warm-up is not merely the time before, it is where focus and preparation optimize an athlete prior to training or competition'