Warming Up Properly

Before each workout you should always do a warm up.  I’ve unfortunately neglected to address this point for a while, mostly due to lack of video capabilities, but I’ll make up for it today!  A warm up helps to prepare your muscles for exercise, get your brain in the right focus, and prevent injuries to muscles and joints.  It also elevates your blood rate, which can help stave off pressure headaches and other symptoms people can sometimes get from jumping immediately into intense exercise.

A warm up IS NOT just sitting around doing static stretches.  In fact, those are typically much better suited for a cool-down workout, as stretching before exercise can actually decrease the results you see, and evidence that static stretching before exercising prevents injuries(a belief long held) stands on shaky ground at best.

I’ve put together a nice little warmup program for you, as you can see in the video below.  Do this before your strength and cardio training sessions, and you should see a safer, more productive workout.  Enjoy!

That’s all for this week.  I’ll see you again on Sunday, when I post our fitness update for the week.  Next week is also a Character Week, which means a grab bag post on Monday, and the rest of the week will be a character breakdown!  Until then, be bold, change the world, and continue to be awesome.

Dan “DaRatmastah” Wallace