How to warm up properly for any type of exercise

We know we should warm uo properly, however we skip it as often as we can.

Warming up should be any kind moderate exercise that raises the pulse gradually. Something as simple as a couple of minutes running on the spot can be beneficial. The purpose of a simple warm-up is also to raise the body temperature and psychologically prepare you for the session ahead. Warming the muscles increases the elasticity of the muscles and increases the blood flow, in turn reducing the risk of injury. It can also increase the metabolic rate of cells and the readiness of the nervous system. A common mistake is to stretch before warming up, or to even strech as a warm up, it can be bad for you to stretch cold muscles.

Once your have raised the pulse gradually you then need to increase your joint mobility, such as arm swings or knee needs. Make sure your joints go through their full range of movement.

Next increase dynamic movement, this will help to build up the intensity of your warm up, going from low to moderate intesity and will really get the blood pumping to all your muscles. Examples of dynamic movement would be jogging backward, jogging whilst quickly changing direction, hopping, skipping, frog jumps or burpees.

Next you can move on to stretching, move your muscles to the full extent, try lunges or squats for leg stretches, try elbow and shoulder pull backs to stretch arm, chest and back.

Then try specific exercise for the work you intend to do, for example, do several air squats if you intend to complete weight squats, do several press-ups if you intend to complete bench presses. Warming the muscles you intend to work out will not help prevent injuries but will help you to get the most from your exercises but will improve your performance as well.