Warm-ups help to reduce friction to joints and help to extend muscles. In doing this it is made possible to avoid injury and also discomfort and muscle soreness. If you push yourself too hard, you will still suffer from discomfort the next day. Warm-ups are not your free pass from exercise discomfort. It helps in reducing the chances of sprains while helping your body adjust to the demands from your exercise.



As you exercise your internal temperature will rise. Warm ups allow your body temperature to increase slowly as raising your temperature too quickly will make you giddy and you might lose consciousness. For the fullest most beneficial workout it is vital to warm-up prior to your workout.

Warm-ups are done to ease your body into the exercise routine. Thus, you are warming up your body. This is very similar to cooking in an oven. Using the analogy of warming up the oven before baking a cake, the same mindset applies to workouts: Warm up your muscles before working out. By raising your body temperature slowly, it allows an opportunity for muscles to expand and there is an increase in blood flow to muscles, reducing discomfort the next day.

An ideal warm-up is going to increase your heart rate, increase metabolism and add to your respiratory capacity. In doing this your body is able to better adjust to the workout you are preparing for. Joints will have reduced friction and this helps to lessen chances of sprains for demanding exercises.

The most crucial thing to note is that you should take good care of your muscles and joints as well as your cardiovascular system. This way, you can be sure that you will hit your peak performance with less risk of injury or sprains.

Warm-ups should not be fast and furious. They are done in order to slowly prepare your body for a more vigorous workout. A session lasting approximately 15 minutes is adequate. Begin with some stretches of the muscles that you will be using. If running is the preferred exercise, begin by walking before upping it to a jog before you run. A demanding exercise routine should be eased into.

Should you be playing a sport with the aim of burning calories, you can choose to do the same activity as a warm-up, only at a much lower pace.

For example, when playing tennis you know you be swinging your arms quickly while you are running. To warm-up for an activity of this nature you should stretch your legs, arms, shoulders and back.

Move around and swing your limbs, pretending that you are into the game. This will help to lubricate the joints in your shoulders and prevent unnecessary injuries to yourself. By doing this, you will see that your flexibility has improved and the range of actions is wider.