If you are someone who takes your fitness seriously, it’s important you start paying attention to your warm-up and cool-down journey. If you haven’t been sparing time for the same, you are making a grave error. It’s simply a part of the exercise you shouldn’t miss. When performed adequately, warm-up and cool-down routines enhance the performance of the everyday activity and speeds the recovery of muscles.
Why is warm and cool down important?
Warm-up preps your body for aerobic and cardiovascular activity. It warms your body and increases the blood flow to your muscle groups. It gradually does so without straining your body and makes your body optimally warmed up for the high-intensity workout ahead. With a proper set of warm-up exercises, you mobilize your body for upcoming movements and make them more flexible to movement.
Now, to warm up your body, focus on large muscle groups. Warm them up and then eventually move to muscle groups you wish to target for the day. Choose a slow pace but full-range motion of movements for your warm-up. Don’t focus on speed. Instead, focus on clarity of movement. You won’t feel fatigue post-warm-up. However, a mild sweat is quite normal. Walk or run slowly before a brisk run and walk and then slowly mobilize your hips, joints and shoulders, depending on the workout of the day.
Here is a list of warm exercises you can follow.
- Casual walk
- Brisk walk
- Slow-paced swimming
- Normal squats
- Glute bridges
- Fire hydrants
- Scapular pushups
- Reaches
- Lunges without weights
- Plank hold
And much more.
Similarly, cool down should never be missed. It brings your heart rate back to normal and cools down your body. Cool down eases the stiffness in joints and speeds up your recovery process. Reduce the intensity of your workout to cool down your body. Similar to cool down, the exercises remain the same. Reduce the intensity and bring your heart rate back to normal.
Stretch and relax your body. Take time to reflect on the changes your body has been through during the workout.
Perform hip flexors, quad strteches, neck exercises, pigeon poses and others to relax your body.
Summing up, warm-up and cool-down could potentially reduce your risk of injury. Make it a non-negotiable part of your workout. Check out Hello Fitness Magazine. We share the best Health & Fitness related Articles for information based on healthy eating, health and fitness recommendations, health problems and their solutions, human body fitness, and much more. Follow Hello Fitness magazine on Instagram. There is never a wrong time to go on a fitness quest. Contact us and allow us to assist you in leading a better lifestyle.
