Warm-Up Strategies for Sport and Exercise: Mechanisms and Applications
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REVIEW ARTICLE
Warm-Up Strategies for Sport and Exercise: Mechanisms and Applications Courtney J. McGowan1,2 • David B. Pyne1,3 • Kevin G. Thompson1,2 Ben Rattray1,2
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Published online: 23 September 2015 Ó Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015
Abstract It is widely accepted that warming-up prior to exercise is vital for the attainment of optimum performance. Both passive and active warm-up can evoke temperature, metabolic, neural and psychology-related effects, including increased anaerobic metabolism, elevated oxygen uptake kinetics and post-activation potentiation. Passive warm-up can increase body temperature without depleting energy substrate stores, as occurs during the physical activity associated with active warm-up. While the use of passive warm-up alone is not commonplace, the idea of utilizing passive warming techniques to maintain elevated core and muscle temperature throughout the transition phase (the period between completion of the warm-up and the start of the event) is gaining in popularity. Active warm-up induces greater metabolic changes, leading to increased preparedness for a subsequent exercise task. Until recently, only modest scientific evidence was available supporting the effectiveness of pre-competition warm-ups, with early studies often containing relatively few participants and focusing mostly on physiological rather than performance-related changes. External issues faced by athletes pre-competition, including access to equipment and the length of the transition/marshalling phase, have also frequently been overlooked. Consequently, warm-up strategies have continued to develop & Courtney J. McGowan [email protected] 1
Research Institute for Sport and Exercise, Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
2
Discipline of Sport and Exercise Science, Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia
3
Discipline of Physiology, Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra, ACT, Australia
largely on a trial-and-error basis, utilizing coach and athlete experiences rather than scientific evidence. However, over the past decade or so, new research has emerged, providing greater insight into how and why warm-up influences subsequent performance. This review identifies potential physiological mechanisms underpinning warmups and how they can affect subsequent exercise performance, and provides recommendations for warm-up strategy design for specific individual and team sports.
Key Points Passive and active warm-ups markedly influence subsequent exercise performance via increases in adenosine triphosphate turnover, muscle crossbridge cycling rate and oxygen uptake kinetics, which enhance muscular function. An active warm-up, consisting of a brief (\ 15 min) aerobic portion and completion of 4–5 activation sprints/race-pace efforts, post-activation potentiation exercises or small-sided games, elicits improvements in performance. Passive heat maintenance techniques can preserve the beneficial temperature effects induced via a
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