WARM-UP with Marie-Michele Gagnon

Here is a great example of a quick, easy, and effective warm-up that anyone can do before dry-land training, on snow training, or before racing.

Mitch does this warm-up every morning. When we roomed together we would both be on the floor in our hotel rooms in the EARLY morning doing our own versions of a sun salutation warm-up stretch before skiing.

Warm-ups are SUPER important in any sport to help prevent injury and to prepare your body physically and mentally.  Try Mitch’s warmup or create your own routine that helps you feel loosened up, activated and ready to go!!

Benefits of WARMING UP from Wikipedia.

A warm-up will improve the effectiveness of training and should be done before every training session. This is fundamental to a safe practice.^{[[citation needed]]}

Direct physical effects are:

• Release of adrenaline
  • Increased heart rate
    • Enables oxygen in the blood to travel with greater speed
    • Increased production of synovial fluid located between the joints to reduce friction
      • Allows joints to move more efficiently
  • Dilation of capillaries
    • Enables oxygen in the blood to travel at a higher volume
• Increase of temperature in the muscles
  • Decreased viscosity of blood
    • Enables oxygen in the blood to travel with greater speed
  • Facilitates enzyme activity
  • Encourages the dissociation of oxygen from haemoglobin
  • Decreased viscosity^{[clarification needed]} within the muscle
    • Greater extensibility and elasticity of muscle fibres
      • Increased force and speed of contraction
• Increase of muscle metabolism
  • Supply of energy through breakdown of glycogen
• Increase in speed of nerve impulse conduction
• Removes lactic acid