To prevent the possibility of injury during training, you should do a good warm-up. Today we will focus on stretching exercises. The content of the article:
- Warm up before training
- Doing a warm-up
- Stretching
Warm up before training
The main purpose of the warm-up is to prepare the muscles for heavy loads. If the muscles are "cold", they can be easily injured, and you will not be able to "give your best." During warm-up exercises, the temperature rises in the muscle tissues, and blood flow increases - this is how the body prepares for the upcoming stress. When the joints and muscles are well warmed up, they become more flexible and there is no risk of injury.
In general, a warm-up is usually called a large number of repetitions performed at low intensity, but at a high pace. It is this mode of work that is able to prepare the muscles well. There are two types of warm-ups in bodybuilding:
- General - performed at the beginning of a training session.
- Special - performed before the main exercise and consists of several repetitions with light weight.
Doing a warm-up
Before starting the lesson, you should allocate about ten minutes for a general warm-up. You can run on a treadmill or use an exercise bike. You can end the warm-up cycle with stretching exercises. However, they should not be intense. It should be said right away that the better the warm-up was, the easier it will be to perform stretching exercises.
When the main sets are performed with pauses, it is very useful to fill these minutes of rest with "stretching" - this will make the workout more effective. Moreover, this is not an unfounded statement, but an experimentally established fact. Stretching also changes the shape of the muscles, which enhances the anabolic background in the body.
Stretching
Most often bodybuilders use the fixed point method. It consists in holding the stretched position for 30 seconds.
Stretching should be done gradually, step by step approaching the limit values. You cannot make very sudden movements. This method is great for filling gaps between main sets. The stretching process itself is understandable, and there is no point in describing it. It is better to choose the exercises yourself, since they are individual for each athlete. It's important to remember that when you pull or lift weights, the muscles contract. The opposite phase will be the stretch. For example, for the pectoral muscles, you can grasp the rack with one hand, and simulate the spread of the dumbbells while lying down.
Video on how to warm up before training:
