Most of us skip a warm-up routine and jump directly into the workout. Do you know that this poses great risk of injury by putting more strain on the muscles? This is why any fitness training centre will make warming up mandatory before exercising. A proper warm-up will make the muscles flexible and reduce the chance of injury. In this article, let us discuss dynamic warm-up exercises and their importance.
Significance of Warming Up & Its Benefits to Human System
Before any workout session, our body must loosen out the muscles and get into exercise mode. Besides preventing the risk of injuries, warming up helps the body cope with the workout by activating the central nervous system. It is essential to spend at least five to ten minutes in warm-up exercises. Physical trainers recommend warming up for longer durations if the workout is more intense. Targeting the large muscle groups will be the first step during any warm-up routine, followed by mimicking a few moves from the workout session. A few of the important advantages of warming up are:
- Improvement in performance as it helps the workout happen effectively.
- Increase in flexibility, thereby making the moves easy.
- Reduction in risk of injury as the warm-up exercises relax the muscles.
- Increase in oxygen and blood flow for the muscles to gain better nourishment right before the intense workout.
- Improvement in the range of motion in the joint.
- Decrease in pain and muscle tension by easing out the stiffness in muscles.
What Is a Dynamic Warm-up?
A dynamic warm-up is the key component of any workout. It is referred to as "moving while you stretch", as the exercises include stretching through the full range of motion. A dynamic warm-up prepares the body muscles for any strenuous activity. It is highly recommended to perform a dynamic warm-up before a workout to build strength and improve mobility and coordination. To be more precise, a dynamic warm-up improves the overall workout performance.
The key to making any dynamic warm-up effective is by practicing them consistently. Doing so will make your body adapt to any new exercise. However, analyse what exercise routine you will be performing and plan your warm-up session accordingly. Most important of all, a dynamic warm-up helps with physical and mental betterment.
List of Dynamic Warm-up Exercises to Prevent Injury
As discussed, warm-up exercises before a workout session are essential to keep your body injury-free. A few of the quick warm-up exercises that will prevent injury effectively are:
1. Toe walks and heel walks
Toe walks isolate and activate the calf muscles, whereas heel walks strengthen the tibialis anterior, the muscle around the front of the shin.
2. Marching In place & Swinging Arms
This exercise is the best method to bring the heart rate up without straining the joints or making elaborate moves. It warms up the body effectively and strengthens the system's cardiovascular, respiratory, and immune systems.
3. Jumping Jacks
Jumping jacks target the major muscle groups in the body and are a type of full-body workout. It improves heart health and strengthens the bones.
4. Walking Jacks
Walking jacks are a substitute for jumping jacks. It is recommended for people who find it difficult to perform jumping jacks due to health complications.
5. Arm Circles & Shoulder Shrugs
Arm circles and shoulder shrugs are ideal for warming up the triceps. This warm-up exercise has several movements. It targets the chest and arms that are sore and tight and helps relax them.
6. Mountain Climbers
Mountain climbers build shoulder and chest strength and bring the heart rate up quickly.
7. Walking Toe Touches
Walking toe touches are a great warm-up exercise to stretch the hips and hamstrings.
8. Leg Swings (forward)
Leg swings in the forward direction are a dynamic stretching exercise to stretch and warm up the hip joint and muscles. It reduces the pain in the hip region and prevents injury.
9. Leg Swings (side to side)
Leg swings performed side to side increase the range of motion of the hips. It prepares the joints, muscles and tendons for more intense workouts.
10. Hip Rotations
Hip rotations like stepping over a fence strengthen the hip rotators and improve stability. This dynamic warm-up exercise prevents injuries to knees, ankles and hips.
11. Hip Circles
Hip circles which resemble the motion of hula hooping, are a great warm-up which loosens the lower hip and back muscles, trims the waist and strengthens the core. It improves flexibility and relieves tension and stress.
12. Body Weight Squats
Squats are the most versatile exercise to target most of the muscles in the lower body. You can start by doing easy versions of squats by just going down halfway. Once your body gets accustomed to the move, slowly increase the difficulty by doing full squats. This warm-up exercise is effective on the hamstrings, glutes and quads.
13. Push-ups
Push-ups are a workout concentrating more on the glutes, upper body and core. It is a classic exercise for people with higher degrees of fitness. If you are just a beginner, try doing push-ups on your knees.
14. Lunges
Lunges work the lower body and strengthen the hips, glutes and legs. You can try making the first few lunges easy by going only halfway down. As you ace the move, attempt a full lunge.
15. Power Skips or Bounders
Power skips or bounders improve the power in the lower body. It increases the range of motion of the calves and hip flexors.
The Takeaway
By going through the above article, you would have understood why you should not skip a warm-up routine even if you are running short of time. Before you launch into any workout, warming up boosts performance and flexibility, thereby avoiding injury. GETFit360 is the best fitness training centre in Chennai, which offers group empowerment therapy like no other centre. With our 360-degree approach, we utilise proven motivational and psychological techniques and help you lose weight.
