“Warming up is often overlooked by most people who workout. It seems very basic, but it is as important as the workout itself”

Owing to time constraints or out of sheer lethargy, many of us often tend to skip warm-up exercises before working out. While it may not seem too important, warmups can contribute to your workout. Stressing on the importance of warming up, nutritionist Munmun Ganeriwal recently shared an Instagram post.

“Warming up is often overlooked by most people who workout. It seems very basic, but it is as important as the workout itself,” she said.

Why? According to Ganeriwal, a well-rounded exercise program consists of warm-up as an important component. “It is intended to literally warm-up the exercising muscles to prepare for the upcoming workout,” she mentioned.

How do warm-ups help?

Warm-ups allow the body to gradually transit from the resting state to the higher demands (biomechanical, physiological, bio-energetic) of exercise. This means that the heart rate, breathing rate, and core body temperature gradually (and not suddenly) increases, preparing the body and system for physical activity.

What are the benefits of a good warm-up?

*It prevents any potential injury
*It enhances the range of motion (ROM) of joints
*It enhances muscle performance
*It enhances oxygen supply and blood flow to the muscles
*It reduces muscle soreness post-workout

Components of a good warm-up

Duration: An ideal warm-up should at least be 5-10 minutes.

Intensity: Low to moderate intensity

Mode: Cardio activities like slow walking, slow jog, cycling etc. and muscle endurance activities like shoulder circles, neck rotation etc

Warm-up exercises to do

The most important principle of a warm-up is specificity. Warm-up is always specific to the exercise, mimicking the movement that will be performed in the subsequent workout.

Examples

– If a typical exercise session consists of brisk walking, then a slow walk would be an ideal warm-up

– Brisk walking serves as an appropriate warm-up before a jog

– Low-intensity jabs, punches, and kicks are performed as warm-up movements before a kickboxing class

– Few rounds of Surya Namaskars open up the body for the upcoming challenging asanas in a yoga class.