Warming up correctly will enable your body to get the most out of each exercise session. The human body is made to move, and when it moves, it produces heat to maintain its temperature at a safe level. Therefore, warming up is essential prior to any physical activity.
Warming up your muscles before you begin any workout or exercise allows them to gradually adjust to the stress that they are about to undergo. It also increases blood flow in the muscles, which helps loosen stiff joints and lubricate the connective tissue between joints. This means that when you begin your workout, you’ll be able to work out longer and with less chance of injury. The following five exercises will help warm up your muscles in preparation for whatever physical activity you have in mind.
The key is to warm up properly before exercising and cool down afterwards so that your heart rate returns to its resting level gradually. This will allow your heart, lungs and other organs to return to their normal functions after the strain of exercise has been removed from them by the oxygen-rich blood that they receive during periods of increased circulation. If you fail to cool down after an intense workout, then your heart rate may drop too rapidly, which can lead to dizziness or fainting.
Here are some very effective warm-up exercises one must follow.
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Shoulder Rolls
You can roll your shoulders in any position, even when standing still, but the basic idea is to roll them back and forth in a smooth motion while keeping your arms at your sides.
A common fault in many people’s posture is that their shoulder blades are rolled forwards, which means the shoulder muscles are shortened. If you sit for long period of time with your shoulders rolled forward, they will be very tight when you get up. Rolling the shoulders back stretches the muscles out again.
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Jump Rope
One of the effective ways to get your heart rate up and your body warmed up for the day ahead is jumping rope. It’s also one of the best ways to get out of breath and feel like you need to sit down and rest.
If you haven’t done it before, start off with a minute or so at a slow pace, then build up to around 3 – 5 minutes at a quicker pace. You don’t want to exhaust yourself from day one, after all.
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Running warm-up
Before you start a run, you want your body to be nice and loose. You don’t want a lot of resistance in your joints or any tightness or stiffness in your muscles. If you’ve been sitting for a while, it’s good to move around a bit before you go running so that your body can get warmed up and ready to go.
Start with a brisk walk for about 5-10 minutes to loosen up your muscles and joints. As you walk, use your arms as much as possible. Swing them back and forth and make big circles with them as if you were marching. Do some high knees where you lift each knee as high as possible with each step.
Conclusion
The first thing you need for a healthy workout is to warm up. Warming up is a technique that has been used to prepare athletes for competition by gradually increasing the intensity of exercise, usually by having them do a series of short, easy exercises first. This helps the muscles get used to working so they can deal with more intense exercise later.