How Much Do You Warm Up Before A Meet?

One of my past masters coaches who also happens to now coach NCAA Div 1 college swimming said that it was very dangerous for masters swimmers to sprint or race any distance w/out any warm up due to your jacking up your heart rate from resting to very high. Just wanted to throw that out there. You'd recommend no warm up for people in their 40s, 50s, 60s? My experiences with no warm up (and I felt I was an idiot for trying that - and my coach also confirmed - and have since always warmed up) - No warm up and 200 IM race - almost stopped b/c I felt like I may have a heart attack No warm up and 50s - could do okay times but the swims did not feel good and I did not like my heart rate jumping up so quickly These swims were done at age 30. Just because one is putting out good times does not mean your body is functioning properly. I swam next to someone who died of a heart attack during practice and he was posting good times that day. All I recommended was not trying it for 200 and up. If anyone wants to try it, or gets stuck in a situation where they would need to go sans warmup, I'm just saying it'll hurt! Warmup, like everything else in this sport, is very indivualized - what works for one doesn't work for the next, and what worked for someone last year/month/week doesn't necessarily translate to their present situation. The original poster wanted feedback on warmup length, and when someone commented on no warmup, I seconded those comments with personal experience. Lastly, look at the ages of the two people proclaiming the "OKness" of no warmup... perhaps that will help paint a better picture of our opinions, and perhaps our comments on this topic should be taken with a grain of salt (which most people tend to treat Jazzy's comments anyways). i'm off to go do a 800 loosen...

I'm thankful no swimming coach that I've ever heard of is claiming pre race jitters substitute for actual warm-up, based on an article abstract from 1982. But, hey, whatever works for you. You keep on Googling!! I have a few swimmer friends who have had shoulder surgery and every one of them has come up to me and said "You know, Geek, my doctor has said warmup isn't necessary, just go sit in a corner and get stressed before your event."

OK, Jazzweed, I give in. I just Googled "ridiculous warm-up advice that is guaranteed to get someone injured" and your name popped right up! Heck yeah, man, this Googling is the the bomb! Thanks for the tip.

I really would be much more interested in what a real doctor, maybe even a cardiologist, has to say about this. Maybe even a cardiologist who is an accomplished swimmer. Does such a poster exist? Indeed one does. I will also say this topic was blogged on our USMS team website by two very accomplished coaches, USMS and USA Swimming. Both clearly stated warmup was necessary, but varied by individual. Neither suggested pre-race jitters as a suitable alternative for warming up.

...arousal causes increased blood flow to skeletal muscle and generally prepares the body for maximal physical performance. For those of us wishing to protect our investment in expensive tight-fitting tech suits, a more traditional warmup is a good alternative. (Sorry, I'll go back to lurking now...)

I typically get in the warm up pool as soon as it opens up, so I can be done with my warmup (usually 1600) before the pool gets crowded and the chatters block the walls. I usually end up waiting a few minutes for sprint lanes to open. Then from the blocks, I rehearse the first 25 of each race that I'm going to do that day. If any of the 25's go badly (especially if it's backstroke where I might slip on the start or misjudge the turn) then I'll do it again until I've done it right. As to racing without warmup, :oldman: back in the old days, we used to make a game of that during the offseason. It went like this: - Show up at pool on your own time for an offseason workout - Upon walking out of the locker room, get on the blocks - Race a 500 free (yes, for some reason, that's the only event we ever did in this format) - Compare times with teammates - :chug:

You may have noticed that I seriously do not care what experts tell me to do. Then stop trying to convince us your Googly Scholar posts are expert opinions. Meh, yawn.

There is nothing wrong with no warmup. For sprinters like the Jazzmaster, it is easy to do. The last two summers, I ran 3 long course meets (2 of them with ~200 people) and swam some pretty good long course times in several events with zero warmup. One of my past masters coaches who also happens to now coach NCAA Div 1 college swimming said that it was very dangerous for masters swimmers to sprint or race any distance w/out any warm up due to your jacking up your heart rate from resting to very high. Just wanted to throw that out there. You'd recommend no warm up for people in their 40s, 50s, 60s? My experiences with no warm up (and I felt I was an idiot for trying that - and my coach also confirmed - and have since always warmed up) - No warm up and 200 IM race - almost stopped b/c I felt like I may have a heart attack No warm up and 50s - could do okay times but the swims did not feel good and I did not like my heart rate jumping up so quickly These swims were done at age 30. Just because one is putting out good times does not mean your body is functioning properly. I swam next to someone who died of a heart attack during practice and he was posting good times that day.

I'm not an expert, I just have rational arguments. Which is one better than you. I think what you should or shouldn't do for a warm-up at 23 is far different than what I should do at my current age. I remember running the Army PT test (2 miles) at 22/23, with little to no warm-up, and ran times I'll probably never see again. Heck, I probably even did it half drunk on at least one occasion. But as I've gotten older, I've discovered that my body is less and less forgiving.

One of my past masters coaches who also happens to now coach NCAA Div 1 college swimming said that it was very dangerous for masters swimmers to sprint or race any distance w/out any warm up due to your jacking up your heart rate from resting to very high. Just wanted to throw that out there. If you're doing it right, your heart rate slowly goes up in the minutes leading up to the race, due to psychological anticipation. That's really why I think going sans warm-up works. You also get adrenaline, which prepares the body for movement.