warm up and cool down routines. So many people underestimate the importance of a proper warm-up and cool-down before and after their workout. First lets talk about warming up. Getting warmed up prior to your workout can make all the difference in reaching your maximum potential. Or if you don’t this could potentially lead to an injury. Trust me I’ve been there and it is NOT fun, knowing that if I had warmed up better I probably wouldn’t be in pain now…stink.
But why?
Moving on, so you are probably wondering why is warming up so important? When you start exercising many changes are happening in your body, such as an increase in heart and breathing rates, increased activity from your nervous system as well as an increase in blood flow to your muscles. All of these changes don’t happen simultaneously, so it’s important to give your body a few minutes to warm up in order for these changes to happen gradually.
Before attempting anything high intensity it is even more important to warm-up to prevent early on fatigue, injury, and to assist you in completing your workout session. Now you’re probably asking, well what should I do to warm-up? A warm-up usually consists of some form of stretching and/or gentle cardio exercises It doesn’t need to be time consuming but you should do it!
Here is one of my favorite warm-up routines:
In this routine you will see that I take it slow to begin with and gradually increase my speed and intensity.
Toe touches:
I typically start off by doing a couple of basic stretches to get my muscles moving.: Stand with your feet together and bend over aiming for your fingers to touch your toes. It’s okay if they don’t quite touch yet, don’t strain your muscles to do so. Focus on feeling the stretch in the back of your thighs, (your hamstrings). If you feel any pain behind your knee or a pulling sensation in your hamstring you are over stretching.
Pull backs: Standing with your feet together bend one knee toward your butt, and use both or one hand to hold your heel on your butt. You should feel this stretch in the front of your thigh (your quadricep). Make sure to repeat with the opposite leg.
Arm rolls: Stand with your legs slightly apart, and stretch your arms out so that your body forms the letter “T” . Circle your arms towards the front for about 15 seconds and then circle towards the back.
These are my core three stretches that I do to get the blood flowing to my muscles, feel free to stretch any other body parts that you need to or that are sore especially. The next part of my warm-up routine is more dynamic.
Jumping jacks:
: I’m sure we have all done these one time or another in PE class. But for those who may not know, start out with standing up tall with your arms by your side. As you jump your legs out toward the side simultaneously move your arms up in the straight position, your hands should be pointed towards the sky. As you jump your legs back into the standing straight position bring your arms down simultaneously. Repeat these movements gradually increasing your jumping speed for 20 seconds.
High knees: I use to do these all the time at track practice and before meets, so of course I had to incorporate this exercise into my warm-up routine. Standing tall with your feet together pull one knee up toward your chest, alternating the leg that you do this with. Once you get the movement down, add speed. Remember to get your arms involved. Your arm to propel forward at a 90-degree angle in sync with the opposite leg aiming to make the same angle as well. Do this for 20 seconds.
Butt kicks: Another track move, that’s an oldie but a goodie. Standing tall with your feet together, bend your knee aiming for it to touch your butt. Most of us won’t be able to hold this position without using our arms so here comes the dynamic part making this an active exercise and not just a stretch. Repeat this motion on one leg and then the other. Once you have the action down, pump your arms like your running and kick the heels of your feet back aiming to touch your butt quickly, remember to alternate legs to make this a dynamic exercise. Repeat for 20 seconds.
I do this whole routine for about 5 minutes, initially focusing on stretching and then finishing off with the dynamic exercises above to get my heart rate to gradually rise. Remember this isn’t your workout, so your intensity does not need to be nearly as high, but you should be actively trying.
Cooling down
Now that we’re all warmed up, lets talk about cooling down after the workout. So your tired, from you workout and feel like you accomplished your goal! That’s great, you did but not quite your 95% there. Your all probably wondering why you need to cool down since your already warm, probably sweating, and gasping for breath? Cooling down is just as important as warming up because you want to bring your body back to its steady (resting) state.
After each workout I always stretch and foam roll. I’ve found that this helps improve my flexibility and aids in muscle recovery so I can be 100% ready for my next workout.
I typically make sure to stretch the body parts that I specifically targeted in my workout along with any other stretches I feel like I need to do.
Here’s a full body post-workout stretching sequence of mine:
I typically hold each of these stretches for about 20-30 seconds.
- Arms: Extend one arm across your chest. Hold in that position with the opposite arm. Repeat stretch with the opposite arm.
- Hamstring and calves: While seated on the floor, preferably on a yoga mat. Extend both legs out in front of you. With both hands reach for your toes. It’s okay if you cant touch your fingers to your toes, just focus on feeling the stretch in the back of your legs.
- Hip flexors: Stand with your feet together, step one leg out and get into a lunge position. Check your front leg to make sure that your knee is not further forward than your toe. If so, you will need to take a larger step forward. With your torso upright, push your hips forward so that you feel the stretch in your hip/along. Front of your back leg (the knee pointed towards the ground). Switch legs and repeat.
- Abs: On your yoga mat, lie flat on your stomach. Bring your arms in and place your hands flat on the mat on either side of your chest. Slowly extend your arms to bring your chest off the floor.
- Glutes: Plant both feet on the floor shoulder width apart. Release your right leg and turn it out so that your ankle is resting just above your left knee. Bend your left knee slowly until you are in a single leg squat position. Gently push down on your right knee using your right hand. Switch legs and repeat with your left.
Remember to warm up and cool down after each workout!
Xoxo,
The Active Medic