Warm up: Efficacy of a program designed for downhill skiing.

A warm-up program designed for downhill skiers and conducted in alpine conditions was tested for its effectiveness in "warming up" the body prior to participation in 90 minutes of downhill skiing. Eight subjects were randomly allocated and participated in both the warm-up and control conditions. Measurements were taken of rectal temperature, skin temperature, heart rate and flexibility prior to warm-up, immediately post-warm-up/immediately pre-skiing, and at 15min intervals during 90 minutes of skiing. The main analyses used were planned contrasts on repeated measures analysis of variance. Participation in the warm-up program resulted in significant increases in: rectal temperature (F(1,6) = 8.196; p = 0.008); heart rate (F(1,7) = 32.97, p < 0.001); and flexibility (F(1,6) = 10.14, p = 0.003) when compared with the control condition. These findings demonstrate that the program was effective in warming up the body.