Warm-ups beneficial to growth?

Many bodybuilders will just walk straight into a gym and lift weights cold - no warm-ups. Why? Because it’s the “tear & repair” of muscles that promotes growth.

A thorough warm-up will certainly dramtically reduce your chance of muscular and ligament injury (mirco-tears or worse) Anyone who has ever played sport without a proper warm-up will know exactly what I mean - stiff and sore for days. However, in PE, aren’t we trying to create mirco tears to promote growth? Isn’t a warm-up actually making growth more difficult?

lil1

lil12big1,

We are after the elongation of collagenous tissues. When heated, the molecules within the ligs and tunica move faster and are more easily seperated. The tears will be smaller, but there will be many more of them. Something colder is more likely to break or shatter resulting in larger tears.

Which is easier to spread, hot butter or cold butter?

Bigger

This is a good question to me because I have not been doing warmups. It is hard to tell if this has contributed to my lack of gains over the past few months because my workouts have been for shit.

Bigger, on a scale of 1-10, what do you rate warmups in terms of contributing to gains? Also, what do you think of the concept of warming up, but then stretching while cooling down? I have even heard about those that apply ice packs to increase the “cool down” effect while stretching/hanging.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Hugeness.

Ah yes, but which is easier to break, a warm rubber band or a cold rubber band?:bigwink:
Seriously though, it would seem that warm-ups are a double edged sword. On the one hand they will promote many more micro-tears which in turn heal stronger making it progressively more difficult to tear next time.
On the other hand, without a warm-up the tissue will micro-tear easily but there is a substantial risk of macro-tears which would be completely counterproductive.
Far better to err on the side of safety.

Why haven’t you written a book on your PE experiences? There isn’t a man on the planet who hasn’t fantasized about the posibility of having a larger penis. It would be a best seller - an instant classic. Think of the posibilities … you and Mrs Bib on Oprah …. Letterman …. PE consultant to the stars .. Movie Rights. On second thoughts it might not be such a good idea. There’s too many of us out here who need your help and if you were rich and famous we’d never get a look-in. Thanks for taking the time.
lil1

Huge,

>Bigger, on a scale of 1-10, what do you rate warmups in terms of contributing to gains?<

1 being the least contribution, I would say a one. Warmups are nothing without the actual quality work. However, given two scenerios with the same work, the routine with the warmup should give more gain, to an extent. But, the routine with the warmup will be much more likely to result in no injuries.

>Also, what do you think of the concept of warming up, but then stretching while cooling down? I have even heard about those that apply ice packs to increase the “cool down” effect while stretching/hanging. <

I am for it. That is what I did. Heat in the am. No heat in the pm.

Except about the ice. I don’t know if it would help or not. I just do not want ice around my penis.

lil12big1,

>On the one hand they will promote many more micro-tears which in turn heal stronger making it progressively more difficult to tear next time. <

Very interesting. Could be a valid point. However, if the stresses are continued, making the failures heal in the extended state while breaking more bonds, more failures could be a benifit. The added strength does not come until the break is completely healed. That is why I say you should continue the stress in the fatigued state, even if it is at a much lower weight.

Loci !!!! Shit, I have been trying to dig that word out of my weak mind forever. Answering this triggered it. There are many loci at which a fiber can fail. Any individual fiber will fail at it’s weakest point. If it expands beyond the range of the other fibers which take up the slack, it will heal at that loci in a stronger state.

Then, when the other fibers have failed in their turn, and become longer, it becomes the original fiber’s turn again. While it may not fail at the original loci (because it is now stronger), it will fail at the next weakest loci.

Is that clear or not? I have had a hell of a time trying to put it into words on the “healing” thread.

Bigger

Absolutely clear, Bigger!

<Heat in the am. No heat in the pm. >
Does this mean that you did not warm-up in the PM or did not warm-down?
Thanks
lil1

lil12big1,

>Does this mean that you did not warm-up in the PM or did not warm-down? <

It means I only applied heat in the am. Whatever heat assisted stretching occured, did so in the am. Then, in the pm, everything was at normal body temp, but still extended by hanging, usually at reduced poundage.

Bigger