Is It Important To Warm Up Before Exercise?

With the weather getting colder, it is becoming increasingly important to warm up your muscles before exercising. This ‘warm up’ not only includes completing the necessary warm up exercises, but it starts with wearing appropriately warm clothes.

While winter brings with it many beautiful moments of fireplaces and hot chocolate, it can also be a frustrating when trying to stick to an exercise routine.

Benefits of Warming Up

Have you ever tried to run a short distance with legs that feel like ice blocks? Or a chest that is so cold that it struggles to breath?

There are several benefits achieved when making the effort to warm up, emphasising how it is not something to be looked over. Some of the benefits include:

• Better coordination - warming up helps your brain to prepare for various physical movements

• Enhanced muscle power - keeping your muscles warm also warms up your biochemical pathways which allow your muscles to work effectively

• Reduced risk of injury - by improving coordination, warming up also helps reduce the risk of injury by helping muscles relax and contract at the right time

Dress Appropriately

The first step in preparing your muscles to exert during exercise is to keep them warm from the start. This means that it is important to pay attention to what you wear en route to exercising.

Whether you are going to the gym, to the soccer field or for a jog, keeping your muscles warm before they have the chance to warm up themselves is essential.

At Ajay, we specialise in producing a wide range of active and leisure wear that are perfect for your winter warm up. You can browse our choice of off-the-shelf fleeces and soft shell jackets, or even put in an order for branded apparel.

Ensuring that you dress appropriately means that you are taking the care to look after your muscles and keep them warm before exerting yourself.

Warm Up Exercises

In addition to dressing your muscles warmly, it is also important to physically warm up your muscles with a focused stretch and cardiovascular effort.

A simple warm up will always include a basic head rotation, arm rotation, torso swing, knee rotations and abdominal warm up (amongst other things).

Taking the time and effort to warm up before exercising is crucial to a healthy workout routine. Start off by dressing appropriately and continue with some basic warm up exercises in order to make the most of your work out and reduce injury.