Warm Up Exercises are FUN! OK I'll admit it. I was one of those
guys who used to come into a workout, stretch for a minute and then go
at it. When you're younger you can do that but now that middle age has
set in I'm finding it's way more important to actually warm my muscles
and joints up before heading into a workout.
Realistically
you can do a good warm up in a couple of minutes and it will save you a
lot of down time later do to injuries or just overall muscle and joint
pain.
I always thought that stretching was warming up but the
truth is that static stretching actually cools down the muscles. What
we want to do in a proper warm up is get the blood flowing to the areas
we are going to be working and to get those joints loosened up. The
truth is muscles get way more blood flow than your joints do so you need
to make sure you are not just moving your muscles but you are giving
your joints a full range of motion.
I usually start at my neck and
move down to my feet. That's just me you can do whatever order you
want just make sure that you get everything moving. I like to
incorporate yoga poses as well as a few push ups and squats and lunges.
Do not do so much activity in a warm up that you actually get tired,
all you want is a good full range of motion and get the blood flowing. I
also throw in some stretching but I keep it constantly moving. I find
alternating between down dog and cobra (Yoga Poses) is a great way to
warm up the back, stomach, hips and shoulders.
Remember you only
need a couple of minutes of warm up exercises to keep your body free of
injuries and feeling younger.
