I am not the world’s most patient human. I don’t cope super well with boredom and I need to be convinced that something is really useful if it isn’t fun. So it is no surprise that I needed to get older, more injured, and stiffer before I finally recognized the importance of warming up before a workout.
Warming up intentionally, I should say. All of us do, whether we like it or not, warm up as we begin to work out. We may think we are putting pedal to the metal from the first second, but we’re wrong. And, once we are past our teenage mostly-indestructible years, we are also flirting with disaster.
So: what do we do to warm up? We spend five to fifteen minutes (this varies from human to human; older humans tend to need more minutes, but each of us is the only expert on our own bodies) moving gently and more slowly than we will during the rest of the workout. If, for example, a person is a runner, they might do some rhythmic stretches, a little walking, a slow jog, before getting down to the business of covering actual territory. Or, a spin enthusiast might spend the first song or two pedaling seated while the hips and knees get their juices flowing before turning up the resistance and standing.
Warm muscles move better. They’re more flexible. They get injured less. Love yourself and warm up!
No comments:
Post a Comment