Article: Targeted Warmups

Its a funny one, warming up. Picture this, a long, long time ago, the group of people resting, and bang, a sabre tooth attacks.

Hold it there Sabre tooth, we will just go through our stretching and warm up routine, and be with you in twenty. Bye bye humans. In fact, bye bye any species if warm ups were necessary before optimum performance.

The fact that any of us is here today means that all of us are the cream of the crop genetically when it comes to survival, whether you subscribe to 'creation' or 'selection' theories. It is what individuals do today with that genetic advantage that counts.

So does a truly healthy, fit person need to warmup and stretch before putting in a top physical performance. The fact that most hunts fail and that we are here today points to, no.

Its a funny one, the tangled web of warming up and stretching. Of course, there are the monetary considerations too, which are the main driver behind health and fitness 'breakthroughs' these days. 'What can we come up with to get them to sign up, and then keep them?' Massive, absolutely humongous industry that one. Imagine people realising that maybe they didn't need to warm up or stretch... yipes!!!
 
Excellent article! And Uplift you are off-base with your negative comment. Just because our human and prehuman ancestors may have differentially reproduced over time because of an ability to survive by being able to perform optimally without warm-up, does not mean that a warm-up strategy as CJ discusses is not beneficial for long-term health. The average male lifespan 100 years ago was only 49 years. It is known that Viking men of 1000 years ago rarely lived past 40, and so a Viking male in his late 30's was considered an "old man". So if you are in your teens or early 20's and want to warm-up half-fast (like I did) - go ahead. When you are in your 40's with chronic shoulder problems, etc (like me) - then you will likely wish you had warmed-up as was recommended in this article.
 
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Excellent article! And Uplift you are off-base with your negative comment. Just because our human and prehuman ancestors may have differentially reproduced over time because of an ability to survive by being able to perform optimally without warm-up, does not mean that a warm-up strategy as CJ discusses is not beneficial for long-term health. The average male lifespan 100 years ago was only 49 years. It is known that Viking men of 1000 years ago rarely lived past 40, and so a Viking male in his late 30's was considered an "old man". So if you are in your teens or early 20's and want to warm-up half-fast (like I did) - go ahead. When you are in your 40's with chronic shoulder problems, etc (like me) - then you will likely wish you had warmed-up as was recommended in this article.

Why view my comment as negative? Just stating facts. That lifespan argument isn't valid. How long would the average person from today last in that era and environment? The same argument is often proposed regarding Inuit. The average person wouldn't last long in that environment either. How do you know your shoulder problems aren't dietary related, or related to exercise choice and form?
 
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