Exercise Warm Up

If you are new to exercising, it is crucial that you understand the importance of doing an exercise warm up before any strenuous activity.

Why should you warm up? Once you start exercising, a number of changes occur in your body. Your respiratory rate and blood flow will increase and so will the levels of oxygen and nutrients transported to your cells.

To get your body ready for the increased stress caused by physical exercise, the rate at which these functions increase should be gradual and steady. If you don't do this, you will be operating less efficiently and you won't get as good results as you would like.

Importance of Exercise Warm Up

One very important aspect of the warm up is the fact that it loosens up your muscles and joints and this helps protect them against injury. In addition, a warm up enables your heart to adjust to more strenuous activity, which is very important if you aren't used to exercising, especially if you are older.

How can you ensure that you warm up correctly? You can start off by engaging in any activity which makes your heart beat more quickly. So this could mean walking, jogging or cycling. If you are working out in a gym, you could increase your heart rate by using the rowing machine or a stationary bicycle.

Gradual Exercise Warm Up

Whichever method you choose, you should start off very gently, and then increase your pace gradually until the rate of your heart beat increases and your body temperature begins to rise. It is vital to assess your current fitness level before beginning an exercise program, so that you know how great an increase in heart rate is safe.

You should feel energized after a workout or exercise session and not totally exhausted. And if you do end up exhausted, chances are you'll give up very soon, which will not help your weight loss.

Generally speaking, you'd expect to work up a slight sweat after about 3 or 4 minutes of exercise. After this, move on to the next part of the warm-up, which is stretching. Stretching is great for improving flexibility and also protects against injury. Remember that stretching should only been done when your muscles have already warmed up.

The stretches you choose will vary according to what you plan to do next - some sports recommend specific stretching exercises. So check with your coach. If you are working out in the gym you should have an instructor advise you on warm up stretches as well as helping you design a workout suitable for your fitness level, age and state of health.

After warming up and completing your main workout, it is just as important to cool down.

The articles on this site are for information only and are not intended to replace medical advice.