Adding a Warm Up Routine to Your Workout

It is essential to integrate a set of proper warm up exercises into your workout to increase circulation and heart rate prior to beginning.These exercises will improve your performance while reducing the likelihood of injury by preparing you both physically and mentally for the challenge you are about to exert on your body.

Proper warm up will elevate the body temperature and increase blood flow to the muscles. A beneficial warm up routine is not just stretching. It is a common misconception that stretching serves as a proper warm up. Yes, stretching is imperative prior to beginning exercise, but it is not all you need to do to warm up.

Warm up routines are typically classified in three ways.

Passive Warm Up

This involves raising the body temperature by some extermal means such as using a heating pad or taking a hot shower.

General Warm Up

This is the most common technique. It employs various movements such as joint rotation and bending movements.

Light Calisthenics

Simple exercises such as celisthenics, brisk walking, jogging or jumping rope will increase blood flow to the muscle and increase the body’s core temperature.

A proper warm up prior to your workout has a variety of benefits.

• Increased body tissue temperature

• Increased blood flow to the active muscle group

• Increased hear rate, preparing the cardiovascular system for work

• Increased metabolic rate

• Increased exchange of oxygen from hemoglobin

• Increased nerve impulse speed

• Decreased muscular tension

• Enhanced elongation of connective tissue

It is important to consider a warm up plan that is appropriate to your current physical abilities. It is also important to consider your environment. You should extend your warm up period when working out in cold weather.

Come to BOOTCAMP 619 to learn how to exercise and remain injury-free!