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Before starting a warm-up session (for martial arts purposes)

Many inexpert people think that phases like warm-up and stretching are a useless waste of time but nothing is more false, wrong and dangerous. Those practices are crucial to:

Avoid eventual injuries (or limit their incidence)
Reach the peak performance (otherwise slow to reach, if not impossible)
Maintain high the quality level of our workout (in the next days)
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Note – This article has been asked by one of our Core Course practitioners on Patreon (see how to attend our home study classes here Learn Kung Fu online: a beginner-to-expert course).

Important premises

Before starting we must understand that:

We always have to consult a doctor before practicing any kind of physical activity
In this explanation, we do not want to go too far into technical details but be as practical as possible
After the practice of warm-up, it is fundamental to do some stretching exercises (before moving toward the most intense part of a training session, read Basic soft stretching)
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We also have to pay particular attention especially if:

We are over 30-35 years old
We have suffered injuries or we have specific physiological problems
We usually get cramps
We are naturally not too flexible
Very easily we get hurt (inflammation, dislocations, etc.)
It has been a long time since we are not practicing constant physical activity (“constant” means at least every 3 days)
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What is the warm-up for?

Warm-up, like stretching (read How to correctly perform stretching) is a fundamental phase not only in Kung Fu (where it has a particular relevance) but also in any other martial arts training:

It lowers the energy threshold at which metabolic reactions occur
It increases the inflow of oxygen to our muscles (they become more pliable and contractile)
It increases the mechanical efficiency of our body (mobilizing and lubricating our joints)
It increases the transmission speed of nerve impulses from the brain
It reduces the viscosity of the blood and the synovial fluid in the joints
It drastically reduces injuries to connective tissue, tendons and muscles
It improves the effectiveness of the cardio-respiratory system in relation to the “explosive efforts”
Last but not list, psychologically, the effort it offers us serves as a gradual separator and liberation from the thoughts of everyday life (read also Shaolin breathing control: before/after an effort)
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A note by Master Kongling – In general, the warm-up wakes up our body from the psychophysical torpor typical of modern life (immobility during work, stress, etc.).

How to properly perform warm-up

To perform a proper warm-up session, we must follow some important rules:

Heat – As the word implies, one of the primary objectives of the warm-up is to increase the internal body temperature (generally speaking of 38-39°) and to reach the ideal condition for a peak performance
Low intensity – The warm-up must consist of exercises (proportionally to the level of the practitioner) of low intensity; this prevents the early raising of the lactate
No exaggerations – Under no circumstances a warm-up should be able to affect our ability to practice the subsequent workouts; a disproportionate practice may even give rise to damages of various kinds, we should be relatively fatigued but able to express a good performance (after stretching)
No risks – Warm-up must be simple; it’s absolutely wrong to practice dangerous (eg. weapon training) or acrobatic exercises (eg. kip-up); before starting not only our body has to be awakened but also our spatial intelligence (read The most important skill in combat), our balance, etc.
Never reach the end of elongation – Under no circumstances the activities of warm-up can bring our muscles, tendons (etc.) to the maximum extension or resort to the use of explosive power; ignoring this rule increases dramatically the risk of injuries
It can not be avoided – As we said, warm-up does not limit heating the body and therefore, it must be performed beyond the external / collateral factors; an example to understand, on a sultry summer day (maybe being sweaty), we may think to be already warmed up enough but this is absolutely not sufficient (not the same thing)
No shortcuts or passive tools – There is no passive equipment (electrostimulation, irradiation, etc.) that can properly replace a real and effective active warm-up
Sweating is not an indicator – Another important fact to stress is that sweat is not a reliable indicator of a completed or useless warm-up; a lot of people sweat even when they stand still and yes, this is an advantage but this does not means that their body is completely prepared
Precision – Unlike stretching (that is more sectoral), although warm-upmore easily incorporates multiple body elements, it is essential to concentrate our work on what we are going to use more directly / intensely; in any case, a good warm-up should always include as much as possible body elements
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When to perform warm-up exercises?

Warm-up exercises (read for example 5 jumping exercises ideal for beginners / warm-up) must be executed:

Before performing any type of physical activity and before even the lighter stretching session (especially if we have exceeded 30-35 years); an alternative for situations of reduced time is dynamic stretching that combines phases of slight stretching to a light-medium warm-up (read for example Dynamic stretching: an exercise for the lower limbs)
Possibly within a morning training (read also Tips on how to stretch our training times), in such a way that, together with stretching, we guarantee to be able to face any eventual critical issues related to personal defense with “minor” risks; it is well known that in 90% of cases, in an improvised combat scenario, the time of preparation of the body is almost null (read Self-Defense: is it possible to always be ready to fight?)
For about 10-20 minutes; the duration should be adjusted in relation to the intensity level of the following activities, the age of the practitioner and his / her current athletic condition; slightly longer and less intense stretching / warm-up are advisable for over 30-35 years practitioners
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In the next article of this series, we will see some simple but effective exercises useful for raising the internal temperature (read Basic warm-up).

In-depth video courses

Basic 6 Dragons Kung Fu exercises – The core practices of 6 Dragons Kung Fu workout
Full body stretching exercises – How to stretch the entire body
Combat flexibility: tendons transformation for martial arts – A path toward a more advanced level of flexibility

In-depth articles

5 running exercises ideal for beginners / warm-up – The most simple and effective warm-up exercise
5 push-up exercises ideal for beginners / warm-up – How to wake-up the upper part of the body

Questions

Reply in the comments and share your experience:

How do you feel after warm-up?

Author: Master Kongling

Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu.

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