Everyone has done a few warm ups in their life (hopefully more than a few!). Whether you love or hate them, warm-ups — specifically dynamic warm-ups — do great things to prepare your body for physical activity. Just like warming up a car on a cold winter day, you should also warm up your body before doing physical activities.
Why you should always warm up before working out
When doing warm-ups, we’re physically warming our body temperature and muscles (hence the name) to prepare for the exercise.
Improved mobility
As a muscle warms up, reaction time and contraction time all decrease. This allows your body to move better but also be more efficient with energy production. Body temperature can also aid in muscle elasticity, which can help us avoid injuries and perform to the best of our abilities in a training session.
Better blood flow
Our blood vessels also expand making it easier to get the oxygen-rich blood to the muscles in need. The more blood to muscles, the more energy a muscle can make. This process also makes it easier for the heart to circulate blood through the body. This makes your body more efficient at producing the energy that our muscles need while also getting rid of the waste produced by our muscles.
Mental preparation
Warming up is just as important for the brain as it is for the rest of the body. As we get ready to perform exercises, we can help our mind-muscle memory by focusing on the task at hand. A good warm-up will get you mentally ready while also helping bridge the gap between our mind and muscles. Positive imagery, breathing drills, and laser focus can all help warm-up our brain and prepare the body for exercise.
Dynamic vs. static stretching
There’s more than one way to warm up before a workout. Static stretching is a start, but we recommend doing dynamic warm-ups whenever possible. A static warm-up is likely what comes to mind when you think of stretching — crossing your arm over your body, doing a deep lunge, or sitting in a butterfly position. Dynamic warm-ups involve the same moves, but the primary difference is that the movement doesn’t stop. By moving through the moves, not only are you stretching stiff ligaments, but you’re also improving mobility and warming up your muscles faster than if you were to just hold a stretching position.
Our top 5 tips for warm-ups
- Your warm-up is just as important as any exercise in your workout. Prioritize a proper warm-up to get you ready!
- Warm up based on your workout. Make sure to include some similar moves to the moves your will perform in your workout, in your warm-up. This will make sure you are priming the correct muscle groups.
- Don’t neglect a body part because it isn’t in your workout. For example, if you are doing a leg day, still incorporate a couple upper body warm up exercises in your warm-up. Even though the focus should be on the lower body, you still need to throw in a couple exercises to prime the entire body.
- Prioritize dynamic warm-ups over static stretching. Like we mentioned above, dynamic warm-ups include movements that take you through a full range of motion. Avoid static stretches as they don’t prepare your body nearly as well. In fact, static stretches in the warm up could potentially increase your risk for injury.
- Mind is the most important muscle. Without a proper mindset, we don’t get as much out of a workout! Being present, intentional and invested in the task at hand make a huge difference. Make sure to know your “why” and get your mind amped to give it your all!
Ready to get started? Follow our warm-up stretching 101 guide and start making regular warm-ups a part of your fitness routine.
