Warm Up

Question 1

What are the main components of a traditional warm up?

Answer 1

• Submax aerobic component
• Stretching/mobility
• Short duration, high intensity bursts

Question 2

Which mechanisms experience improvements following warm-up?

Answer 2

• Muscles - CO2 production, O2 consumption
• Circulation - O2 & CO2 flow
  Ventilation - Expired CO2 and inspired O2

Question 3

How is O2 dissociation effected by warm up?

Answer 3

Acidosis - as acidity increases, Hb affinity for O2 decreases, enhancing unloading
Temperature - within limits, increased temp causes O2 release from Hb

Increased offloading = greater O2 extraction

Question 4

How does warm up effect muscle VO2?

Answer 4

Higher muscle O2 extraction, delivery and VO2

Beneficial in improving aerobic metabolism, reducing he deficit (less glycolysis etc)

Question 5

How does warm-up effect anaerobic energy contribution?

Answer 5

• Less reliance on anaerobic metabolism (reduced lactate production)
• Increased oxidative energy provisions during submax exercise

Question 6

What are the implications of warm up on muscle metabolism and contractile function?

Answer 6

• Decreased resistance of muscles and joints
• Faster nerve conduction velocity
• Improvements in muscle contractile apparatus
• Faster metabolic reactions (Q10 effect – for every 10*C increase, metabolic rate is doubled)
• Increased sympathetic nervous system activity (Increases in adrenaline and noradrenaline. Breakdown of glycogen to glucose and increased substrate for anaerobic glycolysis)

Question 7

What effect does stretching have on strength?

Answer 7

Static stretching can be detrimental so strength performance - shown through reduced max force/CMJ

Question 8

What is the importance of stretch duration?

Answer 8

Stretch duration should be kept to a minimum to reduce the impact on muscle contractile function

Question 9

How does stretching effect power?

Answer 9

Dynamic stretching improves vertical jump height
Dynamic stretching requires more energy, shown to improve performance following 1/2 sprint sets but not 3
Important to prime systems but adequate recovery time is required

Question 10

Through which mechanisms is post-activation potentiation effected by warm-up?

Answer 10

Short-duration high intensity exercise activates enzymes related to mysosin, which increases muscle force and production due to an increase in calcium sensitivity

Question 11

What kind of warm-up is recommended in team sports?

Answer 11

• Short warm up of 10-15 mins (better explosive performance)
• Passive strategies to maintain heat
• 2-min short explosive tasks
• Re-warm up at half time

Question 12

WHat are the effects of high-intensity re-warm ups

Answer 12

• Improved performance
• Can be adopted into half-time strategies
• Used in elite swimmers and improved performance

Question 13

Why is a warm-up recommended for sprint athletes?

Answer 13

High intensity warm-up but with adequate recovery enhances performance.
A recovery is necessary to allow clearance of BLa and PCr etc
Resting BLa should be ~3mmol

Question 14

Is it recommended to warm up for performance lasting > 20 mins?

Answer 14

Limited data, unlikely to provide much improvement

Would use submax aerobic exercise, dynamic mobility and PAP are most likely to be beneficial

Question 15

How should warm-up be adapted when in the heat?

Answer 15

Reduce duration to reduce increase in muscle heat

Question 16

What are the main benefits of a warm-up?

Answer 16

Enhanced muscle O2 delivery, oxidative metabolism, anaerobic metabolism and contractile function