The warm up is one of the most important parts of a workout and often one of the most neglected. The purpose for warming up is to prepare your muscles and body. You are literally warming up your body by getting your blood pumping to your muscles, tendons and ligaments. By performing a quality warm up you can potentially save yourself from injury. Warming up also is a great time to get your mind ready for your workout.
Check out these 5 tips!
1. You should warm up for a minimum for 5 minutes. Keep in mind the longer your workout or the colder the weather is outside, the more time you need to warm up. Don’t go into the workout cold or you could strain/break/sprain yourself. You are more likely to complete a successful workout when you are limber and ready.
2. Don’t jump right into stretching. A warm up is light movement such as walking or a light jog to warm up the muscles and then you should stretch. Stretching too much before your muscles are ready could cause discomfort, inadequate stretching or even injury.
3. Do active stretching. Active stretching works well before a workout because your body is still moving therefore you will not go back to being static.
4. You can wear more layers of clothes while warming up to help build extra heat in the body. When you are done warming up, you can take off the layers and do your workout comfortably.
5. Lastly, even if you are fun of energy and ready to go, still start off slow! Don’t jump into your vigorous workout up until your body is ready. Start of slow and then build up the intensity.
By doing these easy tips you will have a more successful workout and feel better through the duration of your work out! Don’t forget to take adequate hydration breaks and always remember the cool down portion of your workout! Let’s do this!