You’re already motivated! You have become aware of how important it is doing sport. Congratulations! But be careful! It’s all very well to exercise, but not in any way. Your body needs to be prepared for the sports session. Your muscles and joints need to be ready for the effort they’re going to make. If you don’t take care of this aspect you can hurt yourself.
So take note, because in Body and Mind we are going to explain to you the best way to warm up your muscles before starting to exercise. Ready?
Benefits of warming up before training
Warming up your muscles is essential before any training. But not just any warm-up, but a specific warm-up for the activity you’ll be doing later.
At Body and Mind we organize sports sessions with a warm-up to prepare your body and mind for the exercise we are going to do. It is very important to do these exercises before training, because warming up protects your heart and allows it to increase its rhythm gradually.
When a person exercises alone, it is sometimes complicated to be aware of your own limits. That’s why at Body and Mind, we always recommend that you exercise with a personal trainer who will prepare the right sessions for you, follow up and monitor your progress.
If you don’t warm up properly, the stress you put on your heart and cardiovascular system can cause damage and slow down your progress as an athlete.
Another important aspect to consider when doing sport is muscle elasticity, as it allows the muscles to stretch and contract during exercise.
If you warm up before a workout your muscle elasticity increases, so that your muscles and joints function better and are prepared to reach their maximum flexibility. Thanks to this, you will be able to execute the exercises well, maximizing the results and minimizing the risk of injury.
At Body and Mind, we recommend quick and easy warm-ups, so you don’t get tired before training. The most important thing is that after a warm up your body should have increased its temperature to a general level, if not, you have not warmed up enough and you need a few more minutes before getting down to business.
After the warm-ups that your personal trainer has prepared for you, not only will your muscles and joints feel more flexible, but you will also feel mentally prepared for the exercise.
Remember, you’re preparing for your next sports session, so it shouldn’t be a hard warm-up. You don’t have to get tired before your workout, just be prepared and aware of the moment you’re in. It’s your time to disconnect from your daily routine, your time to de-stress, your time for yourself.
The best warm-up exercises
At Body and Mind we will always recommend that you work out with a sports professional. With the help of a personal trainer you will achieve your goals in an easier and, above all, safer way. Your coach will organize specific sport sessions for your body and for the goals you want to achieve, with a totally personalized exercise plan.
Within these training sessions will be included of course the warm up, with its times and specific exercises for you.
One of the most recommended warm-ups is the dynamic one, because it helps to activate the central nervous system and prepares your muscles for a great workout. It also improves blood circulation.
What does this type of warm-up involve? It consists of doing dynamic exercises in a few seconds, to activate your body. Neck rotations, trunk flexions, squats, shoulder rotations with your arms outstretched… With this warm-up you’ll move all the joints in your body at once, gradually getting your muscles to relax and stretch.
A very important part of the warm-up before the exercise is the stretching. To be able to do the exercises correctly without our muscles suffering, we must first stretch them well.
The stretching is very similar to the exercises carried out in the dynamic warm-up, simply that they are done in a static way and without repetitions. Stretch your arms out to the side, stretch your legs trying to touch the tip of your foot with your hands or make small rotating movements with your head to one side and then to the other.
Before starting the training we have to get our heart going. To start raising your body temperature and accelerate your heart rate you can do simple jogging, jump rope or bike exercises, but at a low frequency. Remember that we don’t want to get tired during the warm-up, but rather prepare our body for the exercise we are going to do.
Another way to warm up before starting a workout is to do the exercises that we are going to do afterwards, but at low intensity. By practising these movements, we train our muscular memory while preparing our body for action.
The purpose of the warm-up is to prepare your body for the exercise you are going to do afterwards. In other words, if you want to train your strength, you must focus your warm-up on doing a series with little weight or with your own weight so that your body gets used to the movement and your muscles stretch before including weight on the bar or with dumbbells.
That’s why at Body and Mind we insist on working out with a professional, to make sure you’re doing the right exercise for each part of your body you want to train and also to make sure you’re doing it correctly to avoid injuries.
Your personal trainer knows which exercises are best for you. That’s why he prepares a training plan totally adapted to your sporting level, with which you will gradually improve. You will see progress in a short time thanks to the work done with your personal trainer.
Don’t think twice! If you are one of those who, however much you train, do not see progress or always end up with muscular pain because you are doing a bad exercise, contact Body and Mind and we will prepare a complete training plan totally adapted to you with which you will see results in a short time.