Do you warm up properly before performing a High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workout? If not, you are at a high risk of injuries and compromising your performance.
HIIT is usually quite intense; therefore, a good warm-up session will help you work out as hard as you can while ensuring that you stay injury-free and efficient at the same time. Warming up your body before an intense workout session can significantly enhance your athletic performance.
Many professional athletes recommend a warm-up to prepare for a competitive task. The main purpose is to increase muscle temperature and help initiate metabolic adjustment while preparing you for the upcoming task. Another objective of a warm-up is to get your joints mobilized so that you are all set to begin your workout.
A proper cardio warm-up increases your heart rate; as a result, the heart starts beating faster sending more blood to the muscles. The increased respiratory rate allows your lungs to get more oxygen, essential for an intense workout.
In addition to preventive and physiological benefits, the warm-up also improves attention and concentration levels and mentally prepares you for a training session.
Why is a Warm-Up Important Before a High-Intensity Interval Training Workout?
As it is quite clear by now that warm-ups can both reduce the chances of injuries and improve performance, you must learn more about the importance of a well-designed warm-up session.
A well-designed warm-up can ensure many benefits by increasing your blood flow, muscle temperature, and core temperature. A proper warm-up ensures faster muscle contraction and relaxation of the agonist's muscles, producing limb movement without muscle tension changes. Moreover, warming up improves your muscle strength, power, and reaction time.
It brings noticeable improvements in the rate of force development and ensures increased blood flow to the active muscles and enhanced metabolic reactions.
However, if you are spending a longer time on your pre-workout warm-up, then you may be doing more harm than good by wasting your time and energy and tiring yourself before your actual workout. Many people tend to spend a great amount of time on static stretching before working out, which can make them even more prone to injuries.
If you want to perform an ideal workout, you need to perform some good warm-up exercises that can get your muscles ready for the training without you having to spend too much extra time on it.
This article refers to a perfect warm-up routine and highlights some highly beneficial pre-workout recommendations to enhance your workout performance.
A Perfect Warm-Up Routine
This section refers to some perfect warm-up exercises that will prepare your overall body for a high-intensity workout session. Some of the warm-up exercises in this section are: hip reps, arm circles, jump rope, squats, walk-outs, and reverse lunges.
Hip Circles
It is crucial to prepare your hips for lower body exercises, especially if they are too tight. Tight hips can hinder the movement of muscles surrounding them, especially your glutes, resulting in other body parts becoming strained. Hip circles or rotations are the best exercises that can help you loosen your hips.
- Stand with your feet together, and raise one knee to 90 degrees.
- Make a big circle with your knee, as wide as you can, while staying stable.
- Keep circling slowly for eight reps.
- Switch direction and make another eight reps. Repeat on the other leg
- Do eight reps inward and eight reps outward.
Arm Circles
Before performing a high-intensity workout, it is important to loosen up the tension in your shoulders and get your joints warm, and an arm circle is the best exercise that can help you achieve this end.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms by your sides.
- Swing your arms forward in a slow circular motion.
- You must feel your shoulders loosening up as you do so.
- Continue the circular motion for eight reps.
- Then circle the arms in the opposite direction for another eight reps.
- You must complete eight reps inward and eight reps outward.
Jump Rope
A high-intensity workout needs you to get your heart rate up and your body warm before you begin. Jumping for two minutes is one of the best ways to get your heart beating faster. Using a jumping rope can make your heart rate fast and warm up your shoulders and arms too.
- Get a jumping rope and jump for 2 minutes.
Related Article: These 17 Cardio Workouts Will Make You Sweat Fast
Squats
No matter what type of strength training you would perform, there are high chances that you will be doing some squatting motions at some point, either with or without weights. Doing a few squats during your warm-up will prepare your body to get used to the movement and help work out your glutes, quads, and hamstrings before you progress to the main session.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, hands at your chest, and toes turned out slightly.
- Bend at your knees and hips to move into a squat position while bringing your butt to knee height.
- Keep your chest high.
- Turn to a standing position by driving through your heels.
- Perform at least 15 reps.
Walk-Outs
Walk-outs are amazing for stretching the hamstrings and activating your core. This movement will enhance your mobility, flexibility, and strength.
- Start with your feet hip-width apart and arms at sides.
- To reach the floor, bend at hips and crawl out to a high plank position.
- Pause your shoulders over your wrists for a few seconds.
- Then crawl your hands back to your feet before standing up, and one rep is complete.
- Perform eight reps at least.
Reverse Lunges
If you want to gain core strength and stability, going straight from lunge to lift can help! Lunges will also work out your glutes, quads, and hamstrings.
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
- Take a step back with your right foot.
- Bend your knees while lowering yourself until your right knee is about 6 inches off the floor.
- To stand up, push off your right foot, and bring your knee out at a 90 degree in front of you.
- Step your right foot back for another reverse lunge immediately.
- Perform 12 reps on each leg.
Now that you know the importance of warming up and the best full-body warm-up exercises, you must be aware of some other methods that can prepare you for an intense workout session. For instance, taking a good night's sleep is one way of enhancing your workout performance the next day.
Similarly, a healthy diet can enhance your workout capacity by providing all core nutrients to your body. Staying hydrated is yet another tip that can help you ace a highly intense workout session. Therefore, you must ensure proper water intake before you begin working out to enhance your performance.
Taking a pre-workout supplement also works wonders for improving your performance during a high-intensity interval training workout. The pre-workout supplements provide all the fitness and energy you need before a challenging workout.
As pre-workout supplements can help prepare your body for a grueling session, you must consider incorporating these into your daily workout routine. However, before doing so, you need to have a clear understanding of how pre-workout supplements can provide you all that you need to master an intense training session.
Related Article: Speed Up Muscle Recovery 10x Faster
How Can Pre-Workout Supplements Help Prepare You for a High-Intensity Interval Workout?
While you are looking for ways to improve your workout performance, you must know that the pre-workout supplements are specifically designed for this purpose. Pre-workout supplements boost your energy levels and your performance to help maximize your gains by working out.
The pre-workout energy boosters consist of magic ingredients such as caffeine that enhance your mood and concentration, essential for performing your best during a high-intensity training session.
Besides, some pre-workout supplements such as DMoose pre-workout drinks contain another magic ingredient, L-citrulline. According to a research study, citrulline can help you perform 53 percent more reps of a bench press workout.
Most authentic pre-workout supplements, such as DMoose pre-workout supplements, also contain creatine Monohydrate, which helps muscles produce and circulate more ATP. ATP can improve muscle contractions which will provide you increased muscle strength within a shorter period.
DMoose pre-workout supplements also contain L-arginine, branch-chained amino acid essential for protein synthesis. This wonderful ingredient helps relax your blood vessels and enhance blood flow and oxygen supply to your body.
Besides, Beta-alanine is another essential ingredient, a naturally occurring amino acid that ensures better nerve signal function and helps you overcome fatigue. DMoose workout powder contains beta-alanine, which will help you improve your athletic performance and minimize tiredness and muscle fatigue.
Reliable pre-workout energy supplements, such as DMoose pre-workout, contain the exact nutrients that your body needs before any intense physical activity. These nutrients ensure better energy and motivation levels, enhance cognitive performance, speed up recovery, and support muscles for better performance.
So if you want to maximize your performance during a high-intensity session, you must incorporate a pre-workout supplement into your daily routine along with following a properly designed warm-up session.
TRENDING ARTICLES
Takeaway
High-Intensity Interval Training is usually an intense training session that requires you to prepare your body before progressing to the main workout fully.
While a good warm-up session is essential to warming your muscles and preparing your body for a HIIT, some other factors, such as a healthy diet, proper water intake, sound sleep, and pre-workout supplements are equally crucial for enhancing your workout capacity.
Article Sources
- Asmussen, E., et al. “Mechano-Elastic Properties of Human Muscles at Different Temperatures.” Acta Physiologica Scandinavica, vol. 96, no. 1, Jan. 1976, pp. 83–93. PubMed, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-1716.1976.tb10173.x.
- Bergh, U., and B. Ekblom. “Influence of Muscle Temperature on Maximal Muscle Strength and Power Output in Human Skeletal Muscles.” Acta Physiologica Scandinavica, vol. 107, no. 1, Sept. 1979, pp. 33–37. PubMed, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-1716.1979.tb06439.x.
- Enoka, Roger M. Neuromechanics of Human Movement. Human Kinetics, 2002.
- Hoffman, Jay. Physiological Aspects of Sport Training and Performance. Human Kinetics, 2002.
- McArdle, William D., et al. Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition, and Human Performance. 5th edition, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2001.
- Pérez-Guisado, Joaquín, and Philip M. Jakeman. “Citrulline Malate Enhances Athletic Anaerobic Performance and Relieves Muscle Soreness.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, vol. 24, no. 5, May 2010, pp. 1215–22. PubMed, https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181cb28e0.
- Racinais, Sébastien, et al. “Sports and Environmental Temperature: From Warming-up to Heating-Up.” Temperature, vol. 4, no. 3, July 2017, pp. 227–57. Taylor and Francis+NEJM, https://doi.org/10.1080/23328940.2017.1356427.
