A warmup should be an integral component of a workout or competition. The purpose of a warm-up should be to prepare the athlete physically and mentally for training or competition and potentially improve subsequent performance. The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) suggests that the warm-up be divided into two modules, a general warm-up followed by a specific warm-up. The warm-up should be structured such that the work starts at a low intensity, gradually increasing to a moderate intensity (and possibly to a high intensity). Also, the warm-up should be structured such that it does not cause fatigue.

The NSCA divides the effects of the warm-up into four general physiological responses. The acronym RAMP stands for raise, activate, mobilize, and potentiate.

Raise: During the general warm-up, there is an increase in the release of adrenaline & noradrenalin into the blood stream which together increase heart rate, the amount of blood pumped out of the heart per beat and per minute, systolic blood pressure, and respiratory rate. There is also an increase in core temperature, and blood flow and oxygen delivery to the working muscles. Additionally, there is an increase in secretion of synovial fluid, the WD-40 of our joints.

Activate: Mimicking movements that are to be performed in subsequent components of a workout or a competition activates the motor pathways from the brain, down the spinal cord, and finally to the muscles used in subsequent performance.

Mobilize: Dynamically moving joints through the range of motion required during subsequent parts of the workout or a competition breaks up the transient connective tissue bonds surrounding the active muscles, tendons, and ligaments. This allows for a greater range of motion (ROM) and faster muscle contraction during active movement. This may also reduce the risk of injury to those structures during the subsequent activity.

Potentiate: Potentiation requires gradually increasing the intensity of a given sport-specific activity that requires power or speed (e.g., spinning back kick) until reaching the intensity desired for subsequent performance, after which there is a window of several minutes where the ability to produce power and speed is enhanced. The more the power or speed requirement for the subsequent activity, the greater the importance of this phase of a warm-up. But too much stimulation results in fatigue!

General warm-up: This module should concentrate on the raising response. The general warm-up should consist of five to 10 minutes of activities such as walking, light jogging, skipping, dribbling a soccer ball, light intensity calisthenics exercises, rope jumping, or cycling. The general warm-up should start at a low intensity and gradually be raised to a moderate intensity (raise), but not a high intensity.

Specific warm-up: This period should follow the general warm-up and include eight to 12 minutes of movements similar to movements of the athlete’s sport. It should focus on stretching dynamically through the range of motion required for the sport (mobilize), rehearsing the sport-specific skills to be performed (activate), and power or speed drills of increasing intensity (potentiate). The more power or speed necessary for the subsequent activity, the more important the specific warm-up. 

Stretching during warm-up: A warm-up is a component of a workout or competition, while flexibility is a component of fitness. Flexibility training requires its own session, much like strength training or aerobic endurance training. In activities that require dynamic movements in large ranges of motion (e.g., taekwondo), dynamic stretching should be performed during the specific warm-up. However, static stretching and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching before a workout or competition may decrease power, strength, speed, & reaction time, because these techniques relax muscles. Also, the research data do not generally support the notion that static or PNF flexibility training during a warm-up reduces injury rate or muscle soreness. That is, dynamic stretching during a warm-up should not be considered flexibility training. This topic will be further addressed in a future article.