Safe Warm up and Cool down… Why is it so important?

A good warm up is an integral part of a dance class to make sure your body is ready to perform at its peak, but most importantly to reduce the risk of injury. 

The importance of warm up is to send blood to the muscles which in turn, makes the muscles in your body warmer and increases flexibility.  The more flexible they are, the more pliable and accommodative the muscles are able to handle loads and stresses.  This in turn helps reduce the risk of injury.  Warm up is vital at the beginning of class, to allow you to improve flexibility, extension, technique and performance during class…. but most importantly it reduces the chance of injury.

The best way to warm up your muscles is to increase your circulation, this can be done by performing slow controlled movements that gradually increase in intensity and range throughout the duration of the warm up. Circulation and breathing tends to stabilise between 3-6 minutes of continued exercise so this is a good length of time for a warm up at the beginning of class. Not only does an increase in circulation help to warm the muscles, it also increases the amount of oxygen delivered to them, increasing their ability to perform. 

When you begin to move, the volume of fluid and the thickness of cartilage in the joints increases, which improves the joint's ability to absorb shock and prevents direct wear on the bones further reducing your chance of injury.  

Nerve impulses can also travel faster in warmer muscles leading to faster and more efficient muscle contractions when exercising. 

After you warm up, your muscles will only stay warm for 30 minutes. If you do not continue to move and exercise or if you have a break for over 30 minutes you will need to warm up again.  

Kirsti, one of our dance podiatrists, is always recommending her dancers to try and maintain their body warmth from their bed, to the shower and onto the studio.  She recommends, rugging up and wearing warm clothes and socks on your journey to the studio to reduce warm up time, increase the effectiveness of warm up and most importantly, reducing the chance of injury.

How to cool down safely?

A ‘cool down’ is a short session performed after an activity where circulation and breathing rates increase such as a dance class or performance. The purpose of an effective cool-down is to slowly return function to normal to help reduce injury rates and muscle soreness. 

The best way to cool down is to continue with slow gentle movements and focus on your breathing for 5-10 minutes following your high intensity activity. This can include slowly walking around a room, gentle dynamic stretching such as yoga or gently holding a stretch for 15-20 seconds. By doing this your body will be more efficiently able to distribute and eliminate the by-products of exercise, including lactic acid and stopping  it from building up in your muscles.