I always go through a warm-up period at the beginning of my trainer workouts, but like most people I have limited training time and am anxious to get down to business. My warm-up typically consists of spinning along in an easy gear (42x21 or so) until I am pedalling fluidly and my body temp has come up to where it is comfortable to start the fan blowing on me (it's cold in my basement when I start). This typically takes about 5-10 min, and brings my HR up to 110-120, but I'm not even starting to perspire at this point. Sometimes I get off the bike and stretch out a little at the end of this period, but not always.
Is the warm-up supposed to accomplish something physiologically specific? Is there a certain process that should begin and does this take a certain amount of time? Should I just putz along in the 'recovery zone' or should there be some variation to get things working right? Should the warm-up vary in preparation for different types of workout? What exactly is a 'Proper Warm-up?'
Thanks in advance,
Greg. 🙂