Warming Up Before Exercise

The most important thing to do before starting any workout is warming up. It is essential for your muscles to warm up because of the beneficial effects it has on your workout and overall health. When starting a workout you are stimulating your cardio respiratory and neuromuscular systems as well as metabolic energy pathways. While your muscles contract to meet their need for oxygen, your heart rate, blood flow, breathing rate and cardio output increase. Warming up before an aerobic workout prevents injuries by improving the elasticity of your muscles. Also, warming up gives you better muscle control and allows you to comfortably perform longer workouts. Even better, a warm up can also improve joint range of motion and mentally prepare you for higher intensities of exercise.

Two warm-up phases

A warm-up should consist of two phases. One is progressive aerobic activity, which prepares the muscles that you will be using during a workout. The second is flexibility exercises. So, if you will be running, jogging would be an ideal warm-up. The intensity of your warm-up should not be too high. Rather you should only produce a small amount of perspiration and never feel fatigued at the end.

Stretching before warming up

After your warm-up it is also important to incorporate stretching and flexibility exercises in the workout. By stretching your muscles it makes them more pliable during exercise, thus a safer workout. Be sure to stretch the primary muscles you will be using in your workout as well. As stated before, it is very important to warm-up. Make the time to fully reap the benefits of exercise and your workouts.