Vision Fitness T9250 Owner's Manual page 72

DEVELOPING A FITNESS PROGRAM
WARM UP
When you exercise you need more oxygen to fuel your muscles. This oxygen is
carried to the muscles through blood. The increasing demands of exercise will
cause increased breathing rate, heart rate, blood flow and blood temperature. As
your blood temperature rises and more oxygen is released, the temperature of your
muscles will increase. This allows the muscles to burn calories and create energy
for exercise.
A warm-up activity should be a progressive aerobic activity that utilizes the muscles
you will be using during your workout. There is no set intensity to warm-up with. A
typical warm-up will produce a small amount of perspiration, but not leave you
feeling fatigued. Intensity and fitness level will affect the duration of your warm-up,
but 5 to 10 minutes is usually recommended.
A gradual warm-up will do the following:
• Produce faster more forceful muscle contractions
• Increase your metabolic rate so oxygen is delivered to the working muscles
more quickly
• Leads to efficient calorie burning by increasing your core body temperature
• Prevent injuries by improving the elasticity of your muscles
• Allow you to work out comfortably longer because your energy systems are
able to exercise, preventing the buildup of lactic acid in the blood.
• Improves joint range of motion
• Psychologically prepares you for higher intensities by increasing your arousal
and focus on exercise
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