“it’s just the warm-up.” – if that is your attitude you will be DOMINATED!!!
Say Hello to the Warmup King
By now most of YOU CrossFitters know or have met the “King of All Warmups” a.k.a. Greg Nelson. When Greg steps into the box he has one thing on his mind…”Dominate the Warmup!” Greg knows that the warmup is the key to mentally and physcially prepare himself for the task (WOD) at hand.
There are a TON of benefits that result from an effective warmup.
A proper warm up can increase the blood flow to the working muscle which results in decreased muscle stiffness, less risk of injury and improved performance. Additional benefits of warming up include physiological and psychological preparation.
Benefits of a Proper Warm Up:
•Increased Muscle Temperature – The temperature increases within muscles that are used during a warm up routine. A warmed muscle both contracts more forcefully and relaxes more quickly. In this way both speed and strength can be enhanced. Also, the probability of overstretching a muscle and causing injury is far less.
•Increased Body Temperature – This improves muscle elasticity, also reducing the risk of strains and pulls.
•Blood Vessels Dilate – This reduces the resistance to blood flow and lower stress on the heart.
•Improve Efficient Cooling – By activating the heat-dissipation mechanisms in the body (efficient sweating) an athlete can cool efficiently and help prevent overheating early in the event or race.
•Increased Blood Temperature – The temperature of blood increases as it travels through the muscles, and as blood temperature rises, the amount of oxygen it can hold becomes reduced. This means a slightly greater volume of oxygen is made available to the working muscles, enhancing endurance and performance.
•Improved Range of Motion – The range of motion around a joint is increased.
Found at http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/injuryprevention/a/aa071003a.htm
Never again underestimate the power of a proper WARMup.
cfsiouxfalls.com 
August 14, 2010 at 7:07 pm
Start off to set the Record Straight — and yes I hold it 🙂
It has been 15 weeks – 45 warm-ups and just 1 DNF. And the story behind the 1 DNF … babyface “Jesus” (I am sure on purpose) thought he would break the all-time CFSF completed warm-up string and not let me finish 7 Turkish Get-ups in the last round of the 3x 4-stacked warm-up. What he did not realize though is rather than just 1 record, I now most likely hold both the #1 and #2 spots on the consecutive warm-ups completed whiteboard (yes CFers, it is up there right next to Karen and Fran) with the current #1 spot at 30+ and growing.
Now the Real Story —
I came to Crossfit exactly 15 weeks ago. I was a bit on the “Husky” side by 14.87 kilos, give or take a kilo or 18. I was not exactly excited to be at Crossfit for I knew the workouts were hard and my physique was not, yet I knew I needed to be here.
So here I am in “the box” at 9:30AM thinking WTF am I doing and how will I survive. [Side Note: If CF timeslots were AM Radio Stations, the frequency I dropped in on was MILF930. On a typical day, a bundle of Hot Moms with excitement in the air and me (and maybe Cody).] Anyway, I slumber over and check out the whiteboard for the workout and read it all. If I was a CF Journalist, I could recall the actual workout, but instead, I will give you my brain recap…3x through of just 1,000,000 double unders; 6,000 pull-ups, run 400 meters 84 times; 2,000 burpees and a Finisher just to make sure I actually worked out. My mind shuts down…but then, I look a little higher and see the following…”Warm-up, 400m run, 3x through 10 lunges, 10 GHD, 10 push-ups, 10 kettle-bells” and a light goes off…I can actually do that!
So from that day on I figured would actually do the warm-ups in full and at least complete something to go along with about 40 DNF work-outs. For me, it was a way to laugh off the actual reality that I was in fairly poor shape while I struggled through the initial 8 weeks of “holy crap” trying to rebuild myself. And, after babyface “Jesus” broke my initial record streak that no one else knew about, I let it out the fact that I was Dominating the warm-up in competition with myself.
The Warm-up Today —
Today the warm-up actuallly has purpose for me. My body is in better shape. I can actually survive (which was my goal for 12 weeks) and do not DNF every day. So, now I will give you the Greg Nelson “6 reasons why the warm-up matters”…
1. The initial 400m run prepares me that “it’s go time, you are here for 1 hour.”
2. The 3x through 3-4 activities I used two-fold both of equal importance…a) stretch my body and b) work on technique and form. I cannot tell you the importance of the stretching part though for the warm-up has the stretching from the exercises you need to be better in the workout.
3. It gets my heart and lungs fired up. I sweat and use decent weights even in the warm-up so I am ready for the workout.
4. I complete it every time as it makes me feel good mentally. For me that helps my workout as I am now “prepared”.
5. I actually talk to people some and get to know them on a more personal level. They are all great people. I like you all! Warm-up is a light time to catch up with people.
6. It allows me a means to make fun of myself to cover the fact that I was in such poor shape. It made Crossfit fun for me when little else there was fun there. And over time, it has become a funny thing that I embrace for it is how I got to week 15. And, I need to keep Dominating the Streak.
See you all at the Warm-up…and when I yell “Time!!!” and you are still outside on your 400m know in the back of your mind, “You were just Dominated!”
-Greg