A lot is made of the CrossFit warm-up (CFWU). It’s pretty comprehensive, takes about 10 minutes if you do it right, and gets your whole body warm. For people new to CrossFit, it can be quite strenuous as their bodies are adjusting to new exercises. There are even CrossFit tshirts out there that boldly proclaim “your workout is our warmup”. But if you asked most CrossFitters to explain what exactly is the purpose of the warmup and how is it beneficial in the short and long term, chances are they probably don’t know all the specifics. The purpose of this two part article series is to explain why the CFWU is an integral part of your success as a CrossFit athlete/healthier and more fit person and how to make the best use of it. It’s also to ensure that all of you who have been slacking on actually doing the CFWU (yes I know who you are and I’m watching you!) start doing it if you are serious about your improvements in fitness.
Quite obviously the warm up is intended to get your body warm; well more specifically it is designed to increase the temperature of your muscles, connective tissues, and joint fluids. Just like any extensible material (rubber for example) your muscles and connective tissues are more pliable when warm, making movements requiring flexibility easier and smoother to complete. There is also an optimal muscle temperature range for the production of power, which is linked to both the pliability of muscle and tendon as well as the priming of biochemical energy reactions within the muscle fibers.
Increased temperature around the joints is beneficial in decreasing the viscosity of synovial fluid, which is the lubrication for all of your major bony connections. Well-lubricated joints help cushion shocks and create smooth movement, preventing the dreaded “tin man syndrome” (Wizard of Oz reference :).
The warm up also increases your heart rate and blood flow to your muscles, kickstarts your energy systems, and initiates your body’s cooling mechanisms (sweating and peripheral dilation). Increased blood flow to the muscles via a higher heart rate and opening of blood vessels creates an environment for enhanced delivery of oxygen and fuels to the muscles and a removal system for metabolic wastes. Engaging your body’s three main energy systems (anaerobic alactic, anaerobic lactic, and aerobic) before you get into a WOD means that your body doesn’t have to catch up as much once confronted with intensity. This leads to better adjustment of energy needs and helps keep that “i’m only two minutes into the WOD and this really is hard” feeling at bay. You’ll also be able to go harder off the bat with less consequence, which of course kinda brings that feeling back ;).
Given that we often have an intermediate stage before we get into the WOD (buy-in), make sure that you keep yourself in an optimal warmth zone by doing calisthenic movements as needed. If there is a delay between the buy-in and WOD (if we’re running more than one group), grab a skipping rope or do some pushups and squats as needed to keep your temperature up.
I know there are those of you out there who avoid the warm-up or only do portions of it because you are afraid of getting too tired for the WOD. If this sounds like you, just keep in mind that: a. Your body is much more capable than you think it is, and b. You can always scale the exercises down. If certain exercises are very strenuous for you, ask a coach for a scaled version that will use the same muscle groups but will be less fatiguing.
In the next article, I’ll discuss the longer term importance of the warm up. It might surprise you how important the warm up is to your improvement in fitness, elimination of goats (haha that sounds bad), and keeping soreness at bay.
Until then, keep fit and have fun!
Turts
Today’s Workout –
Buy In – Split Jerk technique
WOD – “Tabata Something Else”
Complete 32 intervals of 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest where the first 8 intervals are Pull-ups, the second 8 are Push-ups, the third 8 intervals are Sit-ups, and finally, the last 8 intervals are Squats. There is no rest between exercises.
Keep track of ALL reps from all 8 intervals of each exercise for a TOTAL rep count of all 32 intervals at the end.
Zone 3: modify exercises as needed
Zone 2: Complete every second work interval, giving 4 x 20sec for each exercise
Zone 1: Complete every third work interval, giving 3 x 20sec for each exercise
Cash Out – 5 attempts at a new double under PR
