issue 21
2013
Warming up ‘is’ for cool kids photos: JACOB GIBBINS / @JACOBGIBBINS Let me suggest a little scenario for you budding young athletes and downhill shredders out there. You and your competitor are at the same level, exactly the same skill set and fitness, absolute nothing to separate you as riders. You’re at a national race and both competing for the win. One of you warms up before the final and other not? Who wins? I’m not saying that the guy who warms up always wins, because I warm up at every race and rarely win! This is because our sport has so many variables and anything can happen… But, I know which rider I would bet my money on. My point is that if these two riders are competing and one warms up he could potentially be at a huge advantage, just for the sake of 20 minutes work. So I ask, why would you not do it? I think the majority of riders think that it’s not ‘cool’, and perhaps they don’t know how or why to warm up. So, here’s my take. So what is a warm up? A warm-up is an activity that has two major purposes; to enhance performance and prevent injury. A warm-up needs to be both physical (your body) and mental (your mind), a concept that’s not commonly grasped. Warm up your body. Relaxed, sitting in your chair and reading this article produces a relatively low blood flow to your skeletal muscles, maybe 15 to 20% of its capacity. Most of the small blood vessels (capillaries) within those muscles are closed. Generally after 10 to 15 minutes of total body exercise, blood flow to the skeletal muscles increases to some 70% to 75% and the capillaries open. Along with more blood flow comes an increase in muscle temperature. This is good because the haemoglobin in your blood releases oxygen more readily at a higher temperature. More blood going to the muscles, along with more oxygen available to the working muscles, means better performance. An increase in temperature also contributes to faster muscle contraction and relaxation. Nerve transmission and muscle metabolism is increased, so the muscles work more efficiently. So to those racers who sit on their ass at the start, have I made you think yet? Warm up your mind. Part of a warm-up process includes getting your head ready for the upcoming activity, a huge one in mountain biking as you rely more on your brain than you might think. Downhill is a hugely demanding process on the brain. Mentally preparing for the upcoming workout, or event, is thought to improve technique, skill and coordination, ask any pro and they’ll tell you that these things are pretty crucial. wideopenmag.co.uk
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