Warm ups are great, but a new study suggests that people are probably spending too much time and energy doing them before getting to the actual workout. This is especially true for competitions, where people tend to warm up to the point of actually diminishing their performance.
Photo by Sancho McCann.
According to a professor of kinesiology at the University of Calgary, warm ups should only last minutes, and never peak above 70% the intensity of the intended final workout. Anything more is just going to fatigue muscles before they ever actually make it to the track, field, rink, pool, or mat.
Less is More: Standard Warm-up Causes Fatigue and Less Warm-up Permits Greater Cycling Power Output. [PubMed.gov via The New York Times Health]
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