Warming up before training is an indispensable condition for safe exercise. Doing the warm-up correctly - three mandatory stages

To make muscles more pliable, they need to be warmed up. Trainers recommend starting with a short warm-up, followed by stretching and the main system of exercises. The final stage is a full stretching of all muscles. This approach will help avoid pain in the muscle mass, improve relaxation and increase their endurance.

Even if you are not a professional athlete, but stretch for your health and pleasure, take a little extra time to warm up your muscles. This will speed up blood flow, and the exercises themselves will not take much time and effort. For example, easy walking or rotation of the arms, pelvis, head, etc. Main goals:

tone the entire muscle group, increase the temperature;
reduce overvoltage;
improve muscle elasticity;
reduce the load on the heart by increasing cardiovascular activity;
increase heart rate;
increase the intensity of the training process;
reduce the risk of overextension, strain and injury;
Warming up allows you to psychologically prepare for the stretching process itself.

When muscles are cold, there is a risk of injury when performing exercises with excessive speed and force. This is the opinion of most professionals.

Everything is done at a slow pace. Rushing does not promote relaxation, but on the contrary, can lead to injury.
First, take on simple exercises, gradually adding new ones, each time a little more complex.
The duration of the warm-up is up to 15 minutes, and not to the point of exhaustion.

By following all the rules of stretching, you can avoid side effects. Experts advise that to warm up the muscles, it is better to perform exercises similar to the main system of physical activity, but at a more relaxed pace. Movements aimed at warming up the muscles must have a certain sequence.

Universal exercises

Increasing muscle temperature start with basic relaxation. To do this, take the initial position – feet shoulder-width apart. Raise your arms as you take a deep breath and lower them as you exhale. And so 4-5 approaches.

Next, decide which muscle group is most loaded when stretching. These parts of the body should be the main focus when warming up. For any type of physical activity, there are such universal movements as neck rotation, shoulder warm-up, and torso rotations. To warm up the lower part, walk at a slow pace, squats, swing your legs, and jump rope. Bends forward give elasticity not only to the back muscles, but also to the vertebrae. A light jog is very effective. You can do it either on a treadmill in the gym or in the fresh air, which is healthier for the body. The calf muscles will become warmer as you lift your legs.

Stretching exercises can also serve as warm-up exercises. Raising your arms up, clasp your palm around the wrist of your other hand. Lean slowly to the left. Return to the original position and repeat, but in the opposite direction.

To warm up your lower muscles, lunge with one leg while resting on the knee of the other. Using your hands, gently pull the heel of the same foot towards your buttock.

Lying on your back, lift your legs up at a right angle. Grasping your ankles with your hands, pull your legs towards your head, pulling your toes towards you. At the same time, do not lift your lower back off the floor.

The final exercises can be exercises with a skipping rope. If you don’t have one at hand, replace it with jumping on the spot.

So, regardless of whether you need stretching for professional victories, moral and physical satisfaction from body flexibility, or to benefit your body, you can achieve maximum results without associated injuries only by properly warming up the entire muscle group before stretching.

Video: warming up and stretching before training

Sports injuries happen quite often, especially among beginners or people who rush or neglect this important part of their training program. Personally, I have encountered several such incidents, although they were not very serious, they could have been avoided. Usually injuries can occur if incorrect or insufficient warm up your muscles before training and stretching.

In general, the benefits of exercise for warming up muscles are difficult to overestimate. After all, a proper warm-up can help increase blood flow to the working muscles and reduce their tension and stiffness, which will significantly reduce the risk of injury, as well as increase the performance and effectiveness of the workout. Additional benefits also include physiological and psychological preparation for fitness exercises.

Benefits of Warming Up Your Muscles

Increased muscle fiber temperature. Warm muscles work better and relax faster. Thus, speed, strength and endurance are increased. In addition, there is likely to be significantly less overtraining and muscle strain. In addition, high body temperature improves muscle elasticity, which will reduce the risk of deformation and excessive stretching.

Dilatation of blood vessels. This reduces resistance to blood flow and reduces the load on the heart.

Better body cooling. By activating the body's thermoregulatory mechanisms (efficient sweating), you can prevent your muscles from overheating at the beginning of your workout.

Increased blood temperature. In the case of blood, it turns out that the connection of oxygen with hemoglobin is weakened, and it reaches the working muscles faster, which increases endurance.

Hormonal effect. Your body begins to produce various hormones responsible for regulating energy production. During a warm-up, this hormone balance shifts toward burning fatty acids, which will help you lose weight.

Psychological preparation. Warm-up exercises are a good way to mentally prepare yourself for intense work in the gym, outside or at home. You'll be able to concentrate better on your workout and improve mental clarity.

So how to warm up your muscles before training correctly, you ask? Typical warm-up exercises include:

1. Gradual increase in intensity. This means that for runners you need to start with light jogging, for weightlifters with bench press with light dumbbells, etc. You must give your body time to warm up. The moment you feel the heat emanating from your body, it means that the fat burning process has begun and you can begin a full-fledged training program.

2. Add some exercises that you have never used before. For example, you can even play ball, twirl a hoop, or jump rope.

3. Which exercises to choose? In the article at the link you can find photos that have three phases: relaxation, warm-up of the whole body and the final part.

By the way, I would like to remind you that Stretching and warming up have nothing in common! Stretching is usually done after a workout and helps relax the muscles rather than prepare them for work, so don't get confused. To stretch, you need to have warm and heated muscles that stretch easily and are very flexible.

Also keep in mind that the ideal warm-up is a very individual process that can only be understood with practice and experimentation. Try warming up in different ways at different intensities until you find what works best for you.

Also be sure to watch the following video with an interesting warm-up before training. Good luck!

To reduce the risk of sports-related injuries, there are a few important things to know. One of them is the need for careful preparation for physical activity. It is enough to properly warm up the leg muscles so that subsequent training exercises and tasks do not seem so difficult and insurmountable.

All the benefits of exercises for warming up muscles are difficult to overestimate. A properly done warm-up helps improve blood flow to the working muscles of the legs, which helps reduce their stiffness and excessive tension. Additional benefits include the athlete’s positive psychological mood, which certainly appears after the release of hormones responsible for the production of the body’s necessary energy.

But there is no need to confuse warm-up and stretching exercises; they have different functions for the muscles and must be performed in the correct sequence. How to warm up the leg muscles correctly and relatively quickly in order to increase the effectiveness of the exercise and reduce the risk of injury. Universal exercises that should be performed without fail before each workout or muscle stretching will help with this.

The fundamental thing is jogging, which begins with a normal step, gradually developing into an intense run. This exercise can be done both on a machine that simulates a treadmill, and in the fresh air, which is the most useful.

After this, it’s worth starting lunges, this is when one leg is fixed in place, and the second is thrown forward with a sharp movement, bending at the knee, the body weight transfers to it, and back. This is repeated from the other leg, and so on 10-15 times for both limbs. Now you can start running again, just not for as long and in place. After each exercise, be sure to shake off your legs, alternately relaxing one or the other in a free position.

Some movements come naturally during warm-up; your body begins to feel how to warm up the muscles of one or another department. It is good to make swinging movements with your legs, first with your leg bent at the knee, then in a straight position. Alternate swings forward and backward and to the sides. Also stick to the number of exercises done, 10-15 times on each leg and in each direction.

After completing the exercises, you can warm up by playing ball or jumping rope. When your body is ready for a full workout, you will feel it immediately. At the end of the first and second stages, the final action will be exercises aimed at stretching warmed and trained muscles. Now we can say with confidence that everything was done correctly and with maximum benefit.

Hi all! Do you stretch? Sometimes it is believed that stretching (or stretching, as it is commonly called today) is a secondary activity in the entire workout and that it does not affect the result in any way.

But this is not true at all, look at athletes - not a single workout goes without stretching. This is all because stretching improves body mobility and endurance.

But for a beginner, the word stretching raises many questions, and the most important one is where to start with stretching. And the answer begins with what we actually want: to do the splits or lotus, stand on the bridge, or put our leg behind our neck.

The goal determines the type of stretching and there are five of them:

Active - when we ourselves make an effort to stretch one or another part of the body - for example, legs or back;
Passive - when we stretch with the help of a partner;
Dynamic - light tension and a smooth transition to another exercise;
Ballistic - prohibited during therapeutic stretching, because it is performed with jerks and springy movements;

Static is the most effective and recommended type of stretching; its essence is to linger in one state or another for 15-60 seconds;

And, as you can see, if you want to get healthier, you need recovery, then it is better to choose a static type of stretching, while avoiding other types that involve sudden movements.

Also choose smooth, gradual movements if you decide to practice at home.

The fact is that by performing sudden movements without supervision, without a trainer, you risk harming yourself.

Stretching will be most effective if done every day, performing each exercise for 30-60 seconds.

Exercise technique

Rule number one in stretching is sedate and relaxation, it is very difficult to pull a tense muscle.

The second thing to consider is posture. You should always have a straight back. Even if you are curled up and it seems impossible to straighten your back, stretch, try to keep your back straight. By hunching over, you reduce the elasticity of your muscles and ligaments.

Third - avoid positions that cause injury. For example, if you are bending down, trying to touch the floor with your hands, then keep your knees straight, but when straightening, bend them slightly at the knees.

Also don't forget to breathe. Breathe evenly, do not hold your breath. Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.

Take care of symmetry of stretching– having done the exercise on your right leg, repeat it on your left.

And most importantly, be sure to do it before stretching. warm-up exercises at least 10 minutes. This can be active walking, running, cycling, jumping.

This way you will improve your results when stretching, because warmed muscles are elastic muscles.

Moreover, this will prevent you from injury due to unsuccessful sudden movements while performing stretching.

The benefits of active warm-up

By increasing the temperature during warm-up exercises, your muscle flexibility will increase.

This will allow them to contract and relax faster. Performance will also increase.

The muscles will be more saturated with oxygen due to increased blood flow.

Due to increased blood supply, the level of lactic acid in the body decreases, which will improve muscle function and reduce pain.

Warming up before stretching will improve your cardiovascular activity and allow you to do more work.

Types of exercises to warm up muscles

There are three types of warm-up exercises:

Passive.

These are ways to warm up muscles through the influence of external factors. For example, this could be a sauna, hot shower, ointments.

Such methods are the least effective, since in this case we do not involve muscles and joints in active activity. Non-specialized

. This warm-up covers a large group of muscles, without preparing the body for certain loads.

Such exercises include jogging and swimming - a great way to warm up before training. After all, we spend little effort, but the warm-up is quite strong. Specialized.

Warm-up aimed at warming up those muscles that will be used first.

This type of warming up is the most effective because it reduces the risk of injury and increases muscle performance. Also improves neuromuscular coordination.

But before performing a specialized warm-up, it is necessary to perform a non-specialized one.

After performing a non-specialized warm-up before stretching, it is better to move on to specialized flexibility exercises. This can be joint rotation and dynamic, static stretching.

Warming up your muscles before exercise is a set of exercises that helps you prepare for physical activity and avoid injury. Many novice athletes neglect warming up and do not warm up, which is a big mistake.

The role of muscle warming

We will tell you in detail how to properly warm up your muscles before training in today’s material. First, you should understand why warming up is really important and necessary:

Warming up muscles involves increasing the temperature of their fibers. In this state, they work more efficiently and relax better. This helps improve strength, speed and endurance. Even warmer muscles are more elastic, so the likelihood of getting a sprain is lower.
Vasodilation is another factor in favor of warming up before exercise. Blood flow improves, the load on the heart decreases, and the muscles receive more oxygen.
Normal cooling of the body due to normal thermoregulation (sweating). This eliminates the risk of overheating and muscle injury at the beginning of the training process.
Psychological aspect. By warming up before training, you are mentally prepared for intense work, so the activity will be more beneficial.

How to warm up your muscles?

Every athlete, including beginners, should know how to warm up and prepare muscles before training at home or in the gym. Experts advise starting with aerobic exercise, which will speed up your heart rate and provide your muscles with the oxygen they need.

At home, you can warm up your muscles by walking or jogging in place for 5-10 minutes. Then you need to stretch and warm up all the joints and tendons. A set of exercises suitable for home and gym is as follows:

Turns and tilts of the head. Stand up straight, spread your feet shoulder-width apart and begin to perform different movements with your head, stretching your neck.
Warm up your arms and develop your joints. In the same starting position, begin to rotate your hands and forearms, swing your arms to the sides, up and down.
We go lower and perform turns and bends of the body. Try to go lower and lower with each workout while warming up, improving your stretching.
Rotate your pelvis with your hands on your waist. Perform springing movements, stretching the oblique abdominal muscles.
Warm up the knee joints: stand straight with your feet together and your palms on your knees. Start making rotational movements with your knees, as if describing a circle with them.
You can complete warming up your muscles before training by jumping in place and clapping your hands above your head.

How to warm up in the gym?

If you work out in the gym, it is better to warm up your muscles before stretching or splits with the help of cardio exercises. Use a treadmill, orbitrack or exercise bike - 10 minutes is enough, starting at a slow pace and gradually speeding it up.

In gyms there are jump ropes and expanders, which can also be used to warm up muscles, moderately increasing the load. It is also recommended to prepare muscle fibers before each exercise by performing several warm-up approaches with light weights.

What are the dangers of not warming up?

Many beginners make the same mistake when they come to the gym: they start doing exercises with heavy weights. For example, they do a bench press with a weight of 60-80 kg at once with a working weight of 100 kg. This is simply unacceptable, as the chance of injury is too high:

sprain is the most common situation;
fainting due to a sharp increase in blood pressure;
joint damage.

Experienced athletes always begin their workout with a warm-up to warm up the entire body. Some even do the splits and perform other complex exercises to stretch ligaments and muscle fibers, while for beginners it is enough to limit themselves to the complex described above.