With your day full of lots of work, it's likely that when you decide to work out, you just start exercising right away without warming up, which can cause injuries and other problems. It's unusual to begin strong exercises without prepping your body first.
Warm-up It's an increase in your core body temperature that activates muscles, improves technique buildup, and relaxes tissues around your joints. This increases their range of motion, improves flexibility, and also helps your body move better during exercise. It helps protect you from injury.
1 - Hip Circles
- Stand with your feet close together
- Lift one knee to 90 degrees and make a circle with your hip. Try to make the circle wide and keep your balance.
- Keep moving in circles for 8 counts then repeat on the other side.
2 - Arm circles
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms at your sides.
- Move your arms slowly forward in a circular motion. You should feel relaxed.
- Keep doing the circles for eight counts, then reverse the direction for another eight counts.
3 - Jump Rope
Jumping rope is one of the fastest ways to raise your heart rate and warm up your body. You should feel your heart beating faster.
- Hold the jump rope and jump for two minutes.
4 - Walk-Out
- Start with your feet hip-width apart and arms at your sides.
- Bend at the hips to reach your hands to the ground and crawl forward into a plank position.
- Pause for a few seconds with your shoulders over your wrists and your abs tight.
- Crawl your hands back to your feet then stand up. Do eight reps.
5 - Reverse Lunge to Knee Raise
- Stand with your legs hip-width apart.
- Take a big step back with your right foot. Bend both knees and lower yourself until your right knee is about 6 inches off the ground.
- Push through your right foot to stand, then raise your knee in front of you at a 90-degree angle.
- Step back immediately with your right foot into another reverse lunge.
- Repeat 12 reps for each leg.
6 - Squats
- Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, toes slightly turned out, and hands on your chest.
- Bend your knees and hips into a squat keeping your chest up. Repeat 15 times.
7 - Squat Pulses
After doing 15 squats, hold the squat position for 10 seconds. This hits the muscles in a different and effective way. Adding a bit of speed also raises your heart rate. Remember to keep your back straight (no arching or leaning) and chest lifted.
