What seems impossible today will one day become your WARM UP

This quote has been making a splash for quite some time and no one has taken the glory for it yet.

I think it’s a fabulous quote because it rings true!

It highlights the importance of warming up before exercise no matter what stage of fitness you find yourself in.

So many people dive right into their workout routine. They don’t have the time for warming up and cooling down, only time to fit in their quick burst of cardio or pumping out their max reps of weights for maximum efficiency. The problem… eventually those folks will have to make time… make time to nurse the pulled hamstring, the strained bicep, or something worse such as a slipped disc or hernia and sidelining their workout for weeks or even months.

Where ever you are in your fitness journey, I cannot stress the importance of warming before your workout enough.

Warm up before you slide into the leg press machine, warm up before going all out in Spin class, warm up even before stepping into downward dog.

Think of your warm up as priming your muscles (and your mind) for the more intense workout to follow.

A good warm up of consisting of low-impact exercises to increase your heart rate and drills to mobilize your joints that will also elevate your body temperature, which will allow muscles to contract and relax more easily, preparing them for more strenuous activity. As you build on movement, your heart is also given a chance to prepare for a heavier workload, by warming up first the heart rate gradually increases vs. going from resting to max heart rate which would put a lot of stress on the heart and that’s one muscle we do not want to stress out on us!

Warming up improves the elasticity of muscle and other soft tissues, meaning less chance of accidentally pulling a muscle beyond its range of motion or overheating during your workout.

A proper warm up will also help you get your mind in the right place… on your workout and on your goals for the session. This will help lead to a more successful workout where you feel the rush of accomplishment by the time you are done.

So next time you are stepping into the gym or setting out for a run, please get your warm up in first!

Try one of my guided warmups here on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qo7xzitxyS0

Workout smarter AND harder!