Are You Warming Up Right?

Good morning everyone,

Well, it’s back to reality for me as my Southern Hemisphere sojourn is firmly in the rearview mirror. On the road ahead? Temperatures that would make a Polar Bear shiver!

Plenty of indoor riding in my future, as I’m sure many of you can relate!

In today’s edition:

• 🏃 Are you warming up the right way?

• 🥤 End today with a protein shake - and train better tomorrow.

• 🚀 And quick aero hacks you can use.

Thanks for being here.

-Matt Sharpe, newsletter editor

Have a triathlete in your life who can't stop swimming, biking, or running? Fire this off to them. Forwarded from a friend? Sign-up for free. 

TRAINING THOUGHT

Are You Warming Up the Right Way?

Coaches the world over have pleaded with us to do a good warmup before starting training - especially for harder workouts.

And for good reason! Warming up well allows for increased performance, and will reduce your risk of injury.

• But why is this the case? What does a good warmup look like? And what’s actually happening in your body during it?

The physiology of warmup - what’s happening in your body?

🩸 Increased blood supply to the muscles 

• Some blood vessels do not function at rest - warming up opens up these vessels and supplies nutrient and oxygen-rich blood to the muscles.

• The increase in blood supply literally “warms up” the muscles due to the increased enzyme activity within.

💪 Improved muscle contraction, speed, and force

• Enzymatic activity that warms up your muscles helps increase muscle temperature.

• Studies have shown that higher muscle temperatures (to a point) result in faster muscle contraction and force production. 

Why should we warm up?

🤕 Injury prevention

• Getting into a workout too quickly can result in acute injuries like hamstring strains.

• Consistently not warming up well could also contribute to overuse injuries like rotator cuff impingement and the dreaded runner’s knee.

🏆 Improved performance

• In this meta study, athletes who warmed up improved their performance over 79% of performance-specific criteria.

• This is most likely due to the improved performance of muscle contraction and force production.

• Warming up well also improves nerve conduction - which helps your body move more effectively.

How should you warm up?

🔍 All about context 

A good warmup depends on the context of the training (or race). Easier aerobic training might require a shorter warm up period as the physiological demands are lower. 

• A harder session - think running track intervals, or a hard swim set - will require a longer warmup with some short, sharp efforts to hit that ideal muscle temperature and optimal nerve conduction.

🔥 Working out in the heat: If you’re going to be doing a session in the heat, consider lessening the total warmup time. It will take less time for your muscles to warm up.

If its a hard workout you’ll still want to activate properly. But that could also include more neuromuscular activities like these. 

Now go make your coach proud!

FAVORITES

💪 Recover better: We want to get the most out of our hard-earned miles. So before bed tonight you want want to consider a protein shake. Your body will thank you. [YLM Sports Science]

⏳ Long-awaited tech: It really shouldn’t have taken this long, but, a company finally created a heart rate monitor designed for women. [Bicycling

🚀 Aero hacks: The heavy part of race season is still far away. But it’s not too late to start thinking about some low-cost aero hacks. You might want to be thinking about sleeves on your tri suit! [GTN]

🏆 Champion method: The Norwegian Method™️ started out as the training philosophy of Olympic gold medal and Ironman Champions. Now, it’s a fledgling media empire - starting with this new podcast. [The Norwegian Method]

🦿 Plantar Fasciitis recovery: Have you dealt with the frustration of Plantar Fasciitis? This Tempo subscriber has - and they broke down their experience, and how to recovery properly. [Medshadow]

REEL TIME

A limited-time offer…you have to sign up right now! 🤣🤣🤣

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QUICK NEWS

Wollongong wins: Wollongong, Australia will host the 2025 World Triathlon Grand Final. A beautiful coastline setting with incredible food and coffee? Yes please! [World Triathlon]

Race Ranger grows: The innovative draft-busting technology - Race Ranger - will be featured at this year’s Triathlon de Gérardmer in France. [Race Ranger]

Tigerman incoming: India’s longest-running triathlon, the Tigerman Triathlon, will take place in Nagpur on February 10 and 11. [Times of India]

Charity chap: Russell Cager, from Rugby, U.K. will compete in 31 triathlons over 31 days to raise money for charity. [Bracknell News]

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