If you are starting or if you are going to start playing sports, it is important that you know that warming up before training is essential. So whatever your goals, here’s a step-by-step guide that will save you injury .
The three phases of warming up before training
Whether you do weight training or resistance training (such as running or swimming), it is important that you spend fifteen to twenty minutes at the beginning of each session to condition your body. We are going to divide it into three very simple phases to memorize:
1. Mobility
The first of all is to activate the joints to notice that everything is fine in your body and that you do not have any major discomfort. Here we leave you a small mobility routine to start activating your whole body:
Arm movements in circles. Leaving your arm still, you raise it to above your head and bring it back, forming circles, and maintain and repeat that movement about ten times. Do it with both arms at the same time and don’t apply too much speed. It will help warm up the shoulder.
Neck twists . Staying in place, spin your head like a top, making your neck the base on which it pivots. Make circles, first to one side and then to the other.
hip movements . Keep your legs in place and turn your entire trunk to the right and then to the left, as far as you can but without forcing.
Kicks in the air Support yourself on a wall with one hand for balance and, facing the wall, swing one leg to your right and then to your left. Do it with both in turns, it will help you prepare the hip.
ankle movement . Plant the tip of your foot on the ground and make circles with it without taking your toes off its position.
Do all these movements about 10 times to gradually activate your muscles and your body. As your workouts become more complex, ideally your mobility should also become more specific . But, to get started, this is the most common and recommended.
2. A very light cardio
Now, the idea becomes to pump some blood to the body and start activating the cardiovascular system. How can you do it? The idea (and the most appropriate) is that the muscles that will later be present in your training intervene in the cardio .
For example: when you go to train your legs, 10 minutes of easy cycling can be very suitable. When you have an upper body workout, you can jump rope, or even run for a few minutes, to activate the core.
The idea in this phase of the warm-up is not to achieve a good performance, it is a mere activation exercise. Therefore, do not add more intensity than should be.
And what if your goal is resistance training? Well, the idea here is that you do your normal training but with a few first minutes at a very easy pace. For example, if your training is going to consist of swimming, first do a few laps very calmly to activate your body without accelerating your breathing.
As you progress, you will see that many athletes skip this part in the gym. Again, this phase of the training is very suitable for people who are just starting out. But, as you progress, we can find something more adapted to you.
3. The approximations
Finally, we are going to activate in a more direct way the muscles that will be involved in the bulk of your training.
By approximations we mean that, little by little, your body prepares itself for the weights that you are going to lift, or for the activity that you make it carry out. This happens by using those same muscle areas but with a much lower load. What can be done at this stage? Here we propose a full body approach :
Ten squats . Do them calmly and without any weight, to activate your legs a little.
Ten push ups . If you don’t feel like you can do them at full range, use your knees.
Ten elastic band bicep exercises. You step on one part of the band and grab the rest with your hands, and you push up.
Ten repetitions of military press. With a very low weight that does not develop fatigue.
This is an example of a good warm up before training . Are you looking for a place to get fit? We help you achieve it .
