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EDITORIALS: John H M Brooks and Samuel J Erith Warm-up programmes in sport BMJ 2008; 337: a2381 [Full text]

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20 minutes is a long time

Hilary Curtis   (11 January 2009)

20 minutes is a long time 11 January 2009
Hilary Curtis, Not relevant NW6 7HF Send response to journal: Re: 20 minutes is a long time	20 minutes is a long warm-up, especially when compared with the 20 minutes vigorous-intensity aerobic activity on 3 days a week recommended as a minimum for healthy adults (as an alternative to 30 minutes moderate- intensity on 5 days a week) [1] or the length of a typical school PE lesson. In my experience, fitness instructors usually advise a 3-5 minute warm-up. A longer and more structured warm-up may be beneficial for some sports, eg those carrying a significant risk of pivoting and jolting injuries. However, if health professionals want to encourage more people to exercise they should be wary of giving advice which would make doing so unduly time-consuming and impractical. 1. Haskell, Lee, Pate et al. Physical Activity and Public Health: Updated Recommendation for Adults from the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007 Aug;39(8):1423-34. DOI: 10.1249/mss.0b013e3180616b27 Competing interests: The author exercises regularly at very high intensity.