Why warming up makes sense

It’s not long to go until the St Hugh’s Hospital Cleethorpes Family Fun Run 2022 – one of the most scenic fundraisers around!

There’s still time to sign up for the event on Sunday, September 18, a one-mile route along the Cleethorpes Coastal Footpath. Stunning scenery aside, it is wheelchair and pushchair-friendly, and the idea is to complete the route in whatever way you want… run, jog, stride, walk, stroll, even skip or jump… just have lots of fun!

We have once again teamed up with race organisers Tape2Tape to host a shorter, family-orientated route alongside the ABP Humber Coastal Half Marathon and 5K, raising money for the RNLI.

More than 150 people have registered already, and Kevin Teasdale, the physiotherapy manager at St Hugh’s Hospital is on hand to explain why warming up before the big event is so important.

“A five to 10 minute warm-up can help to mentally prepare you for the event, prevent injury, and increase your performance,” he says. “Warming up prepares the body for exercise. As you start to exercise, the energy demands of such movement requires increased blood flow. This is to supply muscles with nutrition and oxygen. A warm-up also prepares the cardiovascular system (the heart and blood vessels) for the work ahead and allows you to gauge the effort. It’s especially important in colder temperatures.”

Kevin has worked at St Hugh’s for 10 years. He completed a sport and exercise science degree at Teesside University before attaining a Masters in physiotherapy. He then worked in the NHS at County Hospital Louth for three years and started on the bank at St Hugh’s during this time. Outside of work, Kevin runs with his dog three days a week, and tries to get out cycling as much as possible – and he regularly commutes to work on his bike. And he takes his own advice – warming up is something he does himself, too.

“Warm up for between five and 20 minutes,” he suggests, “though it can vary. In especially cold conditions, for example, a warm-up might need to last up to 20 minutes – but in whatever conditions, it should ideally be no less than five minutes to adequately prime the body for the activity.”

So, what should a warm-up consist of?

“There are many exercises, although an active warm-up is better than static stretching,” says Kevin. “Here are some examples of activities to do. You can include some stretches at the end as well.”

• Brisk walking for three-plus minutes
• Striders: Jog slowly for a few minutes then accelerate to a high pace, almost sprinting over 10 seconds before gradually slowing down. Repeat three to five times.
• Lunges: perform 10 lunges on each side.
• Stretches: Quadriceps (in standing, bend the knee and grasp the ankle a hold for 20 seconds), Hamstring (stagger your stance with one foot 40cm in front of the other, bend forward from the waist and feel the stretch in the back of the thigh and hold 20 seconds).

If you haven’t already signed up for the St Hugh’s Hospital Cleethorpes Family Fun Run 2022, head to here: tape2tape.co.uk/events/st-hughs-hospital-cleethorpes-family-fun-run-2/