Warm up before exercise: warm-up exercises

Warm-up exercises before any sport are particularly important for you and your health. Here we will show you which exercises are suitable for warm-up and what you should do when.

You should warm up first for your workout indoors as well as for a long bike ride, hiking or jogging outdoors. You can do similar warm-ups for different types of workouts. Whether you train with the fitness band, with dumbbells or without any equipment – the previous exercises should warm up those muscle groups that you will particularly stress when exercising.

That is why it is important to warm up before exercising

Warm-up exercises protect you from sports injuries. This is because muscles and tendons are warm after warm-up exercises, especially after stretching, and are not overloaded by a sudden stretch.

Warming up can also help your circulatory system prepare for the strenuous exercise. Just so-called HIIT workouts (High-Intensive Interval Workouts) shouldn’t be underestimated. Here, very strenuous exercises alternate with short breaks. If you warm up beforehand and control your breathing, you will continue to supply your body with sufficient oxygen and the risk of injury will decrease. Then you can go to your limits with peace of mind.

In addition, a cool-down after your workout, the counterpart to the warm-up, is helpful. This allows the muscles to relax again after you’ve given your all.

Stretching exercises to warm up

Before you start the right warm-up, it is best to stretch all muscle groups properly. When done regularly, stretching not only promotes general mobility, but also reduces the likelihood of cramps or sore muscles after a workout.

You should always stretch these parts of the body:

• thigh
• Calves
• Shoulders / upper arms

You can find out how to stretch your legs here: Leg Stretching Exercises: Here’s How To Stretch Your Calves And Thighs.

Exercise for shoulder / upper arm stretch:

1. Place the arm you want to stretch on your collarbone so that it forms a line from one shoulder to the other.
2. Then, with your free hand on your elbow, push it toward your body until you feel the stretch.
3. Hold this position for at least 15 seconds.
4. Then place the hand of the same arm on your shoulder blade. The elbow points to the sky.
5. Again, use your free hand to push your elbow towards your lower back.
6. Also keep the minimum duration and repeat everything with the other arm.

For the indoor workout, add abdominal and back stretches if you want to train these areas in the workout. You can find a few exercises for the back in this article:

Make sure to use your joints gently in all exercises, as they are quickly overloaded when stretching. So just stretch as far as you can and relax the muscles.

It is also important that you hold each stretch for 15 to 30 seconds. Stretching pain subsides more and more after regular practice. Also, always stretch both sides. Also, try to regularly touch the floor with your hands with your legs straight before your workout to promote your flexibility. In doing so, you stretch your back and the back of your thighs.

Warming up before doing outdoor sports

You don’t need any equipment for the warm-up exercises outside. Basically, you should warm up the muscle groups that you use during sport beforehand. In endurance sports like running and cycling, this works well by starting out slowly. You shouldn’t work out or set new records, but get your body in the mood for the strenuous exercise.

Also, warm up your shoulders as you break in by slowly circling them in both directions. Running variations such as sideways jumps or heels also prepare your body well.

Heel – this is how it is done:

1. Walk loosely at first.
2. Then alternately throw your legs backwards so that your heels briefly touch your buttocks.
3. You can also hold your hands in front of it to make sure your legs are high enough.
4. Go into a quick, jumping form as you do this.

Additional exercises before running: You should do each exercise for 30 to 60 seconds.

Skippings:

1. To do this, stand up hip-width apart.
2. Then alternately pull your knees towards your stomach as far as possible.
3. Get faster and faster so that you transition into a jumping form. This is how the calves are warmed up.

Lunges:

1. Take a big step forward.
2. Then bend both legs on your knees.
3. Bounce yourself up from the heel of the front foot towards the back leg.
4. Alternate both legs and move into a flowing movement.
5. Make sure that your legs should both be roughly at right angles and that your knees are in line with your toes.

Jumping Jacks:

1. Your feet should touch each other in the starting position, your arms should be against your body.
2. Jump up and land in a position with your legs apart. Raise both arms over your head at the same time.
3. Then jump back to the starting position.
4. This movement must also be carried out quickly.

Then you can add some strength endurance exercises to prepare the muscles for heavy loads. Heavy loads can mean long distances, but also speed. Additional exercises are not absolutely necessary when cycling.

Then start the main workout by slowly increasing the load. Then slowly reduce the load so that your muscles get used to the relaxation again.

Exercises for warming up at home

Before doing workout exercises at home, you should warm up your whole body, with stretching and flexibility exercises being more important than strength exercises, as these follow in the main workout. Since the joints are stressed during the following strength exercises, you should also warm them up well. You rotate the corresponding body part in circular movements.

The joints are important in the following places:

• hands
• Shoulders, arms
• Torso (back and forth)
• hips
• Thighs (bend your legs away from your body), lower legs and knees
• Feet

You should structure your workout so that you give your body time to warm up during it. So increase the difficulty of your exercises and then lower it again until you cool down. Jumping jacks and skaters train you without applying excessive muscle stimuli. For the main part there are strength exercises, for example Bicep curls or Dipswhere you also use equipment like weights.

At Utopia you will also find other exercises for your workout and a description of the dips: Triceps Exercises: 3 Effective Home Exercises. When you cool down, you only do stretching exercises or very light strength endurance exercises.

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