To be safe, an aerobic program should begin with a warm up period. The main purpose of
warming up is to increase your heart rate slightly. This has two benefits: 1) it raises
your core body temperature; and 2) it increases the blood (oxygen) flow to your muscles to
prepare your body for more vigorous physical activity. Your muscles and tendons (which
attach your muscles to your bones) will be more flexible for stretching after mild
movement has raised your internal body temperature. This flexibility helps you increase
the range of motion of your joints and may help you avoid injuries such as muscle tears
and pulls.
What muscles should I warm up?
Focus on warming up large muscle groups (i.e. quadriceps, calves, chest, etc...) In an
aerobic class, participants march in place, grapevine, do knee lifts etc... for the legs.
To warm up the chest and shoulder area, participants do shoulder rolls, arm circles etc...
Runners/joggers could begin their run with a fast walk for 3 to 5 minutes followed by a
stretch prior to the actual run itself.
How Long should I warm up?
It takes your body approximately 3 minutes to realize it needs to pump more blood to
your muscles. Warm ups should last approximately 5 - 10 minutes and they should
incorporate stretching of large muscle groups (such as the quadriceps, calves, hamstrings,
hip flexors, shoulders etc...)
Why Cool Down?
After you've reached and maintained your training heart rate level in the aerobic
portion of your class, it is important to recover gently. The cool down serves two
purposes: 1) it reduces your pulse; and 2) it returns the blood to your heart in
sufficient quantities to rid the muscles of lactic acid (a chemical result of muscular
fatigue). If you stop suddenly, the blood will pool in your legs instead of returning to
your heart. Dizziness, nausea and a "worn out" feeling are common symptoms of an
improper cool down.
Duration of Cool Downs
It takes your body approximately 3 minutes to realize it does not need to pump all the
additional blood to your muscles. A safe cool down period is at least 3 minutes,
preferably 4-5 minutes. All cool downs should be followed by stretching of the muscles to
avoid soreness and tightness.
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