Fitness enthusiasts who turn their noses up at warm ups have a thing or two to learn. Whether you’re going for a run, lifting weights or joining a HIIT class at PUSH Gym, a warm up should be an essential part of your fitness routine.
Want to prevent injuries? Perform with a better range of motion? Boost the responsiveness of your muscles and joints? A proper warm up can accomplish all of that and more.
The fitness world is constantly evolving, and it’s leaving static stretching before a workout in the dust. Now, dynamic warm ups are the new normal. Moves can mimic your workout for the day or even be more general to increase your body temperature.
By starting your fitness regimen with these moves, more blood will flow to your muscles. It also engages your brain to promote better neurological activity, and improves your functional range of motion. A warm up allows you to perform your specific activity with improved acuity and more efficiency. And most importantly, it can help protect against injuries by gradually increasing the stress on your muscles, ligaments and tendon tissue to allow them to handle the higher stresses that exercise may create.