By Fitness Staff
Bone & Joint Institute Center for Musculoskeletal Health
What’s the best way to warm up before working out?
You always hear it: Warm up before you work out. But what does that really mean? Many experts will tell you that this part of your workout is important because it gradually increases your blood flow to the muscles and helps prevents injuries in the long run.
Our sports enhancement experts at the Hartford HealthCare Bone & Joint Institute at Hartford Hospital have a few tips to get you started:
Increase your heart rate enough to break a light sweat: A five-minute walk, bike ride, two minutes jumping rope or a light jog will do it.
These types of dynamic warmup are also a good idea because activating your muscles prevents buildup of lactic acid in your joints. Lactic acid can in your joints can cause aching and soreness. A dynamic warmup before a workout makes your body is better prepared. The main goal of the dynamic warmup is to start out slowly, then build to the intensity of your workout.
When your workout is over, it’s is just as important to cool down and you can do the same exercises as you did to warm up.
To prevent cramping and soreness, perform some static stretches. Hold each stretch for 30 seconds and do five repetitions on each side. Key muscles to focus on when doing static stretches: hamstrings, hip flexors, quadriceps, gluteal muscles, adductors and calf muscles.