ATHLETIC : Warming Up - Part 1

Bekas murid-muridku di SMKBJ ketika menjalani aktiviti memanaskan badan : Johan  Malaysia Champion School 2005 di Melaka

The human ‘motor’ can be likened to a car engine, in that it will not perform at its best until its temperature has risen to an optimum level its moving parts are well lubricated. It requires ‘warming up’ before undertaking vigorous exercise and this is especially important before competition.

Is the warm-up essential? In the case of a very long race, the first 800-1000m might serve, to some extent, as a warm-up, but, since the muscles and organs do not perform at their best until they are warmed up, this would mean some unnecessary loss of energy. A good warm-up also serves to minimize the risk of muscular injury, especially in the ‘explosive’ events (sprints, throws, jumps).

Further Precautions: A thorough warm-up is always necessary and ‘stretching’ should never be neglected even in very hot weather. Special care is needed in cold weather because of the greater risk of muscular injury. Extra warm clothing will be necessary and some form of ‘passive’ warm-up may be beneficial. Tosum up: The warm-up is a general preparation, gentle and progressive, which should have a positive effevt on all muscle groups, joints, ligaments and bodily organs.

Relativity: An experienced athlete’s warm-up could well be a complete general training session for a beginner while the beginner’s basic training session would be a mere warm-up for the experienced athlete.

Aim: The aim of the warm-up is both psychological and physiological. The psychological aim ia to achieve a mental preparation for the activity to be performed an to gain automatic muscle control (the avoidance of over-tension). The physiological aspect aim the following systems: Organic – to prepare the organs to supply more energy without premature fatigue; Neuro-muscular – to make better use of the power produced by this system, to improve blood circulation to the muscles and increase their internal temperature, and so reduce risk of injury, to stimulate the nervous system governing movements and work cycles to gave a better response (especially important in ‘explosive’ events-sprints, jumps and throws); Biochemical – to interact with the systems which carry energy elements around the body, to make efficient use of the energy elements, aspecially those used in endurance events; Psychological – Mental preparation and relaxation.