Using a Heating Pad is not the same thing as Warming Up

Many performers – most often, they’re dancers (sorry, guys, but it’s true) – think that if they use a heating pad for a few minutes before a workout, rehearsal, or a performance they will be properly warmed up and ready for physical activity.  While using a heating pad can help achieve some of the things you need from a proper warm-up, it can’t do all of them.

When sports medicine professionals, like athletic trainers, tell you to warm up before you start a workout or a rehearsal, they don’t mean that they want a part of your body (say, your hamstring) to feel hot to the touch.  What they mean is they want you to go through the process of physiologically warming up.  Basically, they want you to do several minutes’ worth of light exercising that elevates your heart rate.

Why?