HOW TO WARM UP BEFORE A WORKOUT

If you seem to be running out of time, one of the ideas that crosses your mind is to skip warming up before a workout. After all, you can slowly ease into your workout routine without limbering up beforehand, right? 

One of the most important points our caregivers emphasize for residents concerning physical health is the importance of warming up before a workout. At our senior housing center in Rio Rancho, every organized workout directed by one of our caregivers starts with a warm up session. If you do not properly warm up before a workout, you increase the risk of sustaining an injury, or at the very least, place undue strain on your joints and muscles.

Warming up before a workout is important for additional reasons as well. You increase your body’s flexibility when you properly warm up, as well as enhance the flow of blood and oxygen throughout the body. Numerous studies indicate that a thorough warm up period improves physical performance during a workout, such as giving you a much better range of motion. A thorough warm up period also reduces muscle pain and tension.

Here are a few suggestions to help you properly warm up before a workout:

Pushups

One of the most common, yet incorrectly done warm up exercises works your upper body, as well as the core and glutes. For those that struggle with standard push ups, doing this warm up exercise on the knees works as well. The key is to do push ups the right way to get the most out of this warm up exercise. At our assisted living facility, we organize group exercise sessions directed by a fitness expert who ensures each class participant does push ups the right way.

Squats

Squats represent a versatile exercise that targets several muscles, including the glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps. This warm up routine requires you to start slow by squatting halfway toward a full knee bend. You slowly increase the difficulty until you achieve a full knee bend without squatting with any weights. After you warm up by squatting, you can eventually hold weights to work your leg muscles harder. 

Planks

One of the most serious health issues that slow down seniors concerns back pain. Years of putting pressure on the back can lead to debilitating medical conditions, which include suffering from a herniated disc. Planks are a warm up exercise that targets the back by loosening back muscles. They increase back strength, as well as improve balance and posture. If you have never done planks, make sure to do your first few sets under the guidance of a certified fitness trainer.

The Bottom Line

Jumping right into a workout routine without first warming up not only diminishes the effectiveness of the workout, it can also be dangerous. This is especially true for seniors because they do not possess the strength and mobility that they did years ago. Warming up at a comfortable pace is essential to achieving the desired results in preparation for a workout. The caregivers who specialize in fitness at our senior housing center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico encourage residents to warm up as a group to foster a sense of community that helps everyone achieve the same workout goal.