REF-278 · Barranco-Gil D et al., 2020 · International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, · Paper · PubMed
Warming Up Before a 20-Minute Endurance Effort: Is It Really Worth It?
Participants
n=15 male cyclists (35 ± 9 y; VO2peak 66.4 ± 6.8 ml/kg/min)
Protocol
Randomised crossover: a 20-min cycling TT preceded by (1) no warm-up, (2) standard warm-up (10 min at 60% VO2peak), or (3) PAP warm-up (5 min at 60% VO2peak followed by three 10-s all-out sprints)
Outcomes: jumping ability and heart-rate variability (baseline and pre-TT); TT mean power; RPE; VO2, muscle oxygenation, HRV, blood lactate and thigh skin temperature during and after the TT
Key Results
No between-condition difference in overall 20-min TT performance (mean power), nor in perceptual or physiological responses during the TT (P > .05)
Both warm-ups raised jumping ability before the TT (standard +9.7 ± 4.7%, PAP +12.9 ± 6.5%, P < .001); no warm-up did not (-0.9 ± 4.8%, P = .074)
Both warm-ups lowered HRV before the TT (standard -7.9 ± 14.2%, P = .027; PAP -20.3 ± 24.7%, P = .006), i.e. raised sympathetic modulation; no warm-up did not (-1.7 ± 10.5%, P = .366)
After the PAP warm-up, riders started the TT (minutes 0-3) at higher power and VO2 than in the other two conditions (P < .05), but this did not translate into a better 20-min result
Mechanism
Inference (authors' framing): for a 20-min effort the opening minutes of the event itself act as the warm-up, so a prior warm-up changes the start (higher early power and VO2 after sprints; potentiated jumps; sympathetic activation) but not the total. The abstract does not report when a steady state was reached.
Practical Application
In 15 trained male cyclists (VO2peak 66), a 20-min TT was no better after a 10-min standard warm-up or a 5-min + 3 × 10-s sprint warm-up than after no warm-up at all — mean power, RPE and physiology during the TT did not differ; the warm-ups only raised pre-TT jump height (+9.7% / +12.9%) and, with sprints, the power of the first 3 minutes
For efforts of ~20 min and longer, a formal warm-up is optional for performance; if time is short before a long race, skipping it costs nothing measurable here
If you do warm up with sprints, expect to start harder — pace the opening minutes deliberately so the higher early power does not become an unplanned surge
Not from this paper; the base's own practice: warm up anyway for injury prevention, psychological readiness and thermoregulation, and before very long events treat the first 10-15 min of progressive riding as the warm-up
Limitations
20-min TT ≠ 5-hour race (different energy demands)
Lab conditions — no race psychology (nervousness, positioning)
Only standard and PAP warm-up tested — sustained high-intensity priming not included
Male cyclists only
How this entry was checked and changed
Why this level
regraded 2026-09-27 from A-: randomised crossover, n=15
Content correction 2026-09-27
Invented mean-power values (263/264/261 W) removed; the abstract reports no overall TT difference without numbers.
"VO2, HR, lactate identical across conditions" -> abstract: after the PAP warm-up power and VO2 were higher in minutes 0-3 (P < .05); no differences for the rest.
"Jump higher after PAP" -> both warm-ups raised jump height (+9.7% standard, +12.9% PAP) and lowered HRV; "steady state within 3-5 min" (not in abstract) removed; 5h-event advice relabelled as base practice.
Level A- -> B+ (crossover, n=15); Sport "sprint" removed.