Warm Up Activities

When completing an exercise workout, it is important to complete both warm up activities before working out and stretching exercises after your workout. Doing both of these things will help prevent muscle pain and strain, as well as allowing you to derive maximum physical benefits during the workout itself.

Warming up can involve stretching and starting out your workout at a slow pace. If you stretch, it's good to stretch in a very mild manner. For example, loosen your hips by bending from one side to another and follow this with a forward bend that lightly stretches the backs of your legs. Swing your arms and roll your shoulders, hop in place a few times. Then stretch your calf muscles to prevent the hopping from making your calves too tight.

In addition to these loosening activities and some very light stretching, one of the best ways to warm up is to do a very light version of the workout you are about to do. For example, if you are going to go for an intense bike ride, get on your bike and first ride at a very slow pace, gradually increasing your speed with each minute that goes by. If you are going to use an indoor cycling bike instead of riding an outdoor bike, turn the resistance knob only to a very low level of resistance and bike at a fairly quick pace with low resistance.

If you are a runner, you can warm up by slowly jogging and increasing your speed with each minute that goes by. Jumping rope can be eased into by alternating 25 jumps of the rope with alternating calf stretches. While many different types of warm up activities exist, try the following routine if you'd like a step-by-step routine to follow.

Whether you are going to do a cardio workout at home or are headed out to the park for a long running workout to help you lose weight, the following warm up sequence can get you geared up for your workout and help prevent injuries and muscle pain.

Each of the following warm ups can be done for a short period of time, eventually going through the whole list. Alternatively, you can do one of the activities below for an extended time and let that one activity be your entire warm up.

1. Stand still and alternate a marching type of movement by lifting one knee up to waist height, then bring it back down and pick up the other knee. This is a simple warm up, but do 100 repetitions and your body will be warm and ready for the workout.
2. Jog in place by hopping from one foot to the other and creating a kind of sideways movement with your body going back and forth in a movement similar to speed skating.
3. Roll your shoulders one at a time. For a complete warm up, alternate the shoulder rolls - while your right shoulder is rolling, do a left knee raise and vice versa.
4. Stand with your feet wider than hip distance apart and move your chest over first your right foot and then your left foot. Bend your knee as your chest comes over your foot so that you go into a mild knee-bend. As you get warmer and warmer, increase the knee bends. Finally, swing your chest around each time that you bend to one side. As you lean to the right, turn and look over your right shoulder and vice versa. Be careful with this exercise on your knees.

If none of these warm ups appeal to you, remember that warming up can consist of anything that increases your body temperature. Warming up simply means getting your heart and your muscles ready to work, which is done by raising your body temperature.

Regardless of the warm up and exercise routine you complete, don't forget to follow your exercise session with a stretching routine or a few basic stretching exercises. Pairing warm ups with stretches maximizes the effectiveness and the safety of your workouts.

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