Warming Up for the Winter

Winter is on it's way and the one thing that's a must not only in the winter but all year round in the gym is to warm up. People think of it as a waste of time and feels it does nothing for them but there's important things they don't know.

You come to the gym and plan to hit them weights hard and get a good workout in a short amount of time so they go right into their workout without warming up. That's understandable especially for those who work a lot of hours but they don't understand that warming up doesn't have to burn up a half hour or so. Warming up could be done in as short as five minutes for some people.

Some people also feel that they won't get an jury while working out and feel warming up won't make a difference. Truth is, it WILL. A key reason for warming up is to prevent any injuries from occurring. Think about it, you go for a workout and have your routine planned for the entire day and week and end up injuring yourself. Then you can't workout until you recover. Some injuries could take months to recover from which means months out of the gym which equals a physique you probably won't want. I'd rather take a few minutes to warm up then sit on the sideline for months.

Warming up could be done in many different ways. You could walk on a treadmill or another cardio machine for 10 minutes before you workout followed by some stretching. You could perform a light set or two of the exercise you are about to perform before you start a real set. You could do rotator cuff exercises for five to 10 minutes followed by some stretching before you train your upper body. While doing any of those strategies, a sweatshirt or long pants could help you get warmed up quicker. Everyone has a different way of warming up and getting blood into the muscle group they are going to train.

With all this information you have gathered, hopefully you will warm up before every workout if you don't currently. It should be taken serious year round but should have extra attention during the winter when your muscles are colder and at more risk of an injury. Stay warmed up and injury free.