Top Endurance

Before beginning a workout or race, athletes need to complete a warm-up to prepare the body for activity. The purpose of a warm-up is to increase blood flow to the working muscles and increase core temperature while gradually increasing the intensity of activity. This allows the athlete to be physiologically prepared for the activity to follow. A warm-up typically starts with a general activity and progresses through low-intensity aerobic work that is specific to the workout scheduled. For example, before a running workout, an athlete may begin the warm-up with a slow walk and then gradually increase the exercise intensity. The total time of the warm-up may be as long as 30 minutes. Typically, the higher the intensity of the scheduled activity, the longer the warm-up should be.

The cool-down enables the athlete to progress back to a resting state at the conclusion of activity. This is an important part of the recovery process. The increased blood flow to the working muscles that occurs during activity is slowly redistributed back to the core of the body. The exercise intensity gradually decreases as the cool-down progresses from sport-specific activity to more general movements. This gradual decrease in intensity allows heart rate and body temperature to begin to return to normal. The total time of a cool-down may be as long as 30 minutes. Similar to the warm-up, higher-intensity workouts will require a longer cool-down. Activities that last longer will also require a longer cool-down. This allows the blood in the working muscles to be redistributed back through the body, and it helps the body temperature return to a resting level.