Written by SIA - Winter Feels Good

What's the 10-minute way to prevent injury on the slopes? A warmup. Ten minutes is also how long it will take to read this article and equip yourself with knowledge to ski, ride and slide safely. Warming up is a preventative measure. It involves gradual preparation of the muscles, joints, lungs, heart and nervous system. Warmed-up body parts do better on the slopes. A warm-up results in improved strength, speed and coordination of muscle contractions. Enhanced communication from your nervous system also improves sensory feedback from the muscles, tendons and joints - leading to better balance. Just as your car runs better after an oil and lube, so will you after warming up.

Why does a warmup work? Warming up increases body heat. Research clearly shows that better athletic performances are associated with higher muscle temperatures. Physiologically, all the vital bodily functions for sports performance are temperature dependent. In a matter of minutes, this temperature rise stimulates the lubrication of your joints by bathing them in something called "synovial fluid". This reduces joint and bone friction. (If you suffer arthritis or other bone deficiencies, you should do a longer warmup.)

Within minutes of beginning a warmup, the heart's capacity to pump oxygenated blood into the working muscles accelerates. As muscles begin to work, it takes several more minutes to expedite oxidative energy sources for muscular effort to continue. If you choose NOT to warmup, this mobilization takes place during the first few runs. Making cold muscles work is like driving the car with the brakes on!

Keep in mind that statistically, many injuries happen in the first hour on the hill. Strained muscles, back spasms and microscopic tears in connective tissues are just a few of the injury possibilities. If you do a warmup first, the energy sources are already working by the time you take your first runs. Because the warmup delivers more oxygenated blood to the working muscles sooner, the burn caused by lactic acid buildup decreases. Therefore, a good warmup can prevent early fatigue.

Maybe you know all of that. But here's something else to consider: A warmup also is important for faster and more precise nerve impulses. What does that mean to you? If you hit an unexpected bump in the snow that might throw you off balance, a warmed-up nervous system will have a quicker reaction and response time to help you recover.

Phases of the warmup
The best warmups last 10-15 minutes (longer if you're older than 30). How do you know if you're "warm"? You'll feel light perspiration on your forehead. You might notice your heart rate increasing and in general, you feel literally warmer. A warmup has four phases:

1. Balance work. This takes only a couple minutes and can be considered the "warmup before the warmup". Take several seconds to simply stand and balance on one foot. This will help your body make balance adjustments. Feel how the weight falls over the support leg/foot. The same thing happens during your winter sports - movement from one foot to the other, only with a lot more leveraging, power and force because of equipment.
2. Limbering movements. Include small, isolated movements to loosen up the ankles, knees, hips, lower back, and shoulders. You can do side reaches, arm circles, shoulder shrugs, leg swings, trunk twists, pelvic rotations and half squats. You can also practice skills at the feet and ankles, such as edging and flexing the ankles inside the boots.
3. Skill rehearsal. Improve the accuracy, timing and coordination of sport skills by taking a couple of warmup runs on gentle terrain. Take this time to relax and SMILE!
4. Stop and stretch, only after you warmup. Stretches performed free from bulky equipment are most desirable and are within the safe limits of most winter enthusiasts.

Warming up vs. stretching
Do you think that "warming up" and "stretching" are the same thing? They actually produce very different results. Warming up involves muscular contraction. Stretching involves the opposite - relaxing and lengthening the muscles. Flexibility is the result of stretching. Flexibility equips you with mobility to move freely in a variety of directions by developing elasticity in the muscles and range of motion within the joints. Being flexible allows you to change direction quickly and bounce back with ease after a fall.

How to stretch
Stretch by feel, not by force. You can feel a stretch happening when you notice a tingling sensation in the affected muscle(s). Stretching over a period of time will increase your muscles' resting length. Caution: your ligaments and tendons have little elasticity. Only your muscles are elastic and tend to return to their original length.

If you feel pain - behind your knee for example - back off on the stretch. You've gone too far! Instead, move very slowly into your stretches, feel for that tingling sensation, breathe into your stretches and don't bounce.

While there are several ways to acquire flexibility, i.e. yoga, martial arts, the most practical stretches are performed statically and are within the capabilities of most people. Hold your stretches for at least 15 seconds, or as long as possible. Include stretches for the back and front of the thighs (hamstrings and quadriceps), hip flexors (on front of the hip), buttocks (gluteals on back of hip), shins, calves and feet. Don't forget chest, back, shoulders, lower back and back of arms (triceps).

Usually we all perform well within our capabilities on the hill. But all it takes is one unplanned launch in the bumps to make us appreciate that valuable 10 minutes spent warming up, and our body's resilient ability to bounce back into winter play. NO EXCUSES!

Should you stretch without warming up?
A lot of people do it. However, experts agree that in extremely cool temperatures, you might do more harm than good by stretching cold muscles.

To get the idea, put a rubber band into the freezer. Take it out and try to stretch it. It breaks. Besides, cold muscles are more difficult to stretch because of restricted blood flow brought on by chilly temperatures.

Article by Suzanne Nottingham from Winter Feels Good. Suzanne Nottingham is a senior instructor at Mammoth Resort and has taught there since 1980. She is a spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise and was awarded IDEA's 2000 Fitness Instructor of the Year for teaching excellence and innovative program design. She is well-known globally as a visionary, writer and presenter for leading educational efforts in the areas of winter sports conditioning, outdoor environmental training and adult play.