Optimal Warmup & Stretching: Part 4 of Anabolic Muscle Building Factors

Stretching & warming up are the most neglected part of a workout routine. I rarely see people focusing on this, and if they only knew the benefits, they would never skip a warmup every again...

Warming up increases your body’s core temperature, increases blood-flow to your muscles, establishes your range of motion, and increases the secretion of synovial fluid, which lubricates your joints.

An increased core temperature and increased blood-flow to your muscles undoubtedly raises your strength by preparing you for heavy workloads. A cold muscle is an inactive muscle, and if you push a cold muscle with a heavy load, then the chance of injury is ridiculously high.

Perhaps the greatest benefit of warming up is your ability to lift more weight, which increases the amount of high intensity stress you can provide to your muscles, triggering a massive growth response sooner.

And, the fact that it helps tremendously with injury prevention is reason enough for you to never skip a warm-up. Building maximum muscle requires heavy weight, and when lifting heavy, the chance of injury is very high if you don’t prepare well.

Stretching is simply one part of an effective warmup. There are basically two forms of stretching, static and dynamic. Static stretching, the most common type, is when you move into a deep stretch and hold if for 10+ seconds. This form is stretching is NOT to be done before you start lifting. Infact, static stretching has been shown to reduce strength levels and increase the chance of injury when performed before weight training...

Dynamic stretching, on the other hand, is best performed before lifting weights. Dynamic stretching involves moving your muscles through the full range of motion until you start feeling warm. Moving through the full range of motion establishes the right flexibility you need before lifting weights, and it helps warm and lubricate the muscles and joints.

Many lifters are short-changing themselves of gains by either performing static stretching before lifting or by NOT doing dynamic stretches before lifting. Basically, by including dynamic stretches into your warmup, you prepare your muscles for a better workout, which helps you build more muscle.

Static stretching is perfect for AFTER your workout, during a cool-down phase.

A true warm-up basically consists of the following 3 elements:

1) Light Cardio - to get the muscles warm and lubricated, and to raise body temperature.

2) Dynamic Stretching - To establish the range of motion and further prepare the muscles, joints, and tendons for action.

3) Warm-up Sets - Establish the mind-muscle connection with the weight and to start the process of blood flowing to the targeted muscle. This step will help you lift more weight.

Remember, Warmup = Results ... If you don't adequately and properly warmup, you are not experiencing the gains you could be, and you're definitely increase your risk of injury. Wouldn't it suck to get hurt and be out of action for weeks or months, not being able to grow an ounce of muscle?

In the next issue, I'll be getting into duration & volume, or the maximum amount of time you should spend in the gym and how many total sets to perform for fast muscle growth.