Don’t skip your warm-up or cool-down
With our busy lifestyles, it is easy to rush through our exercise routine as well.
If you only have 30 minutes or an hour in the gym, it might seem more efficient to skip the warm-up and cool-down, and head straight into the hard-core workouts. But while these pre and post sessions don’t always feel like “real” exercise, they do benefit long-term fitness and strength.
As with your standard exercise routine, make sure you are executing the movements correctly for maximum benefits. It always helps to get a professional opinion to avoid injuries and to push your body to its full potential.
Why should you warm up?
Your warm-up routine helps to pump fresh blood and oxygen to your muscles, preparing them for the workout to come. Spend 10 minutes doing full-body cardio exercises targeting major muscle groups, which will get your body ready for action.
Should your warm-up include stretching? Recent studies suggest that static stretching, where you hold a stretch, before exercise could do more harm than good.
According to Mike Lagomarsine, from Boston University, for someone doing a typical gym workout, the warm-up should not be static stretching, but instead a more dynamic, or moving, stretching. This will warm up the body by getting the heart rate elevated and move the body through a range of motion, but will do so actively.
Dynamic stretching could range from sessions on the treadmill or elliptical bike to jogging or jump rope. You can even start with a yoga flow as warm-up. The point is to keep moving.
It is equally important to pace yourself when you’re warming up. Instead of launching immediately into a brisk walk, spend five to 10 minutes taking a leisurely stroll with long strides, and then increase the pace gradually.
Don’t skip the cool-down
The last 10 minutes of your session should be focussed on cooling down your muscles and calming your heart rate.
According to physiotherapist, John Miller, your cool-down acts as a steady normaliser helping to remove muscle waste like lactic acid, and assist the normalising of ‘fight and flight’ chemicals such as adrenaline in your blood.
Miller explained that your cool-down is important to normalise your muscle length through static stretching. It is therefore important to stretch out all the muscles you used during your exercise routine.
