Many fitness enthusiasts must realize the importance of pre-workout stretching and warm-ups. Practicing physical activities involves certain principles that must be followed correctly. Fitness is a lifestyle and must be followed by respecting certain rules and limitations.
Stretching and warming up before starting your workout routine are the first and most important steps. A good warm-up session not only prepares you for the workout, but also mentally prepares you to tolerate and endure all the physical effort.
Some of the basic pre-workout warm-ups and stretches that should be included in every fitness enthusiast’s program are:
- Child’s Pose: It mainly focuses on the back, hips, thighs, and ankles. The process requires you to kneel on a mat with your toes touching and your knees hip-width apart. While doing this pose, it is recommended to breathe deeply and rhythmically so that you can feel that you are lightening your spine with each inhalation. And during each exhalation, you should try to relax further into the pose by going deeper into it.
-Jumping Jacks: Jumping Jacks are considered one of the best warm-up exercises. To perform it, you have to stand with your feet together and your arms hanging at your sides. Then, you have to jump rhythmically so that your legs and arms are separated. It regulates blood flow, opens up the joints and also makes the body much more flexible to perform the intense workout.
– Full leg stretch: This is easy yet effective for the hamstrings and lower back. It should be performed by maintaining a straight posture while sitting upright with the back in the current position and shoulders relaxed. Performing these stretching exercises for 15 minutes before continuing with the workout is very helpful if one wants to be consistent with their fitness.
– Arm Swings: Simple and effective, the arm swing stretch is for the upper body as it provides proper opening of the joints and makes the shoulder cuff flexible.
– Toe Stretch: As the name suggests, stretching the toes by bending the upper body downwards provides adequate relaxation to the muscles, besides making the upper body flexible and improving its working capacity. To perform this stretching exercise, one needs to stand straight and bend forward to touch the toes without bending the knees and it should be performed for at least 15 minutes.
In summary:
It is recommended that before beginning any workout, whether weight training or cardio, the pre-workout exercises and stretching mentioned above are performed. This not only makes the workout easier, but makes the muscles much more flexible so that you can get the most out of the workout.
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