Warming Up Body and Mind: Combined Cognitive and Exercise Priming Improves 1‐Mile Time Trial Performance in Recreational Runners

Combined cognitive and physical warmups can improve sport and exercise performance more than standard physical only warmups. The effects of combined warmups on running have yet to be determined. Accordingly, the aim was to compare the effects of combined and standard warmups on 1-mile time trial performance. Experienced recreational runners (11 males, 14 females) completed three counter-balanced sessions. In each session, they completed one of three warmups (physical only, physical plus low cognitive load, physical plus high cognitive load) immediately followed by four laps of a 400 m outdoor track. The physical warmup comprised three activities: 1200 m easy jog, 800 m alternating jogs and strides and 3-min active stretching drills. The combined warmups required completion of four easy/hard 3-min cognitive tasks before and after the physical activities. We measured readiness (after warming up), perceived exertion, heart rate and running kinematics (while running) and fatigue (after running). ANOVAs showed that compared to the standard physical warmup both combined warmups improved running times by 8-11 s (2%-3%), increased readiness to perform, reduced perceived exertion, lowered heart rate and reduced perceived mental fatigue. Combined warmups with interleaved short cognitive and exercise tasks improved 1-mile time trial performance. This study provides evidence that combined warmups prime athletes to run faster by increasing readiness to perform and reducing perceived and actual effort.