Why is warming up very important? The word warm up must be the most over used word for athletes since it’s a given fact that we need to warm up before you kick a ball, hit a shuttle cock, before we sprint, or do a few swimming laps. Before engaging oneself into any strenuous activity a good warm up is needed to prepare the muscles and other parts of the body. This starts with a slow and systematic way of exercising the muscles and other body parts so it won’t strain during an exercise routine. By doing any activities warming up can also have a physiological benefit, that’s the reason why the importance of warming up prior to any exercise cannot be overemphasized.

Warm ups or stretching are very essential routine that any athletes should undergo since it reduces the chances of injury. According to sports experts, a warm up raises the body temperature and prepares the muscles, nervous system, tendons, ligaments and the cardiovascular system for upcoming stretches and exercises. And by doing so it increases the muscle elasticity as it allows the body to be more adaptable to muscle strain. In fact by doing some warming up it can increase the blood flow of the working muscles, increase the metabolic rate, and boost the activity of neuromuscular pathways. A tailored warm up to a specific activity is also important since it concentrates on the specific part of the body to be used in the specific activity.

Here’s a few useful warm up tips that everyone should know before doing some strenuous activity:

1.    Slow paced running is the first warm up routine for loosening up the hips, strengthening the butt and hamstrings as well as improving the leg drive. When doing this, always bear in mind to chest up as you look ahead with the coordination of your arms and legs.
2.    For hip flexor and ankle strength, a proper high knee lift is needed. If you activity needs a hip flexibility then an elbow-to-inside-of-ankle lunge is needed. This warm up routine is the same with slow paced running but you need to extend your trunk forward over the front leg in order to develop the hamstring strength.
3.    Other warming up routine is calf walk for lower limb strength and Achilles flexibility. This could be achieved by extending the ankle on each step. While a sideways/backward skipping and sideways/backwards running can improve the agility and flexibility if the lower limb.

So the next time you do a demanding exercise make sure you do thorough warm ups to have an effective workout.