I always make sure that before I start any exercise routine, I do a proper warm up first. It is important to ensure that our muscles are properly stretched to avoid cramps. It's a good practice to do that.

how long do you warm up before starting your workout

This what i found out "Warm up is necessary to make the body function appropriately; warming up increases the blood flow to the muscles and also ensures that the pliability of the muscles are comparatively higher."


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I warm up for about 10-15 minutes before working out. Definitely helps prevent injuries and gives you a better workout. I save stretching until after the workout.

I usually only do stretching before I start running and doing other exercises and lifting. I've ran for a couple miles before without stretching beforehand and I can tell a difference. There is more pain in the end without stretching. lol

Good to know. I hit my day running way to hard without stretching and need to stop doing it that way.

Be sure to warm up before stretching. If you stretch before warming up, you run the risk of increased injury because your muscles are still tense

As I posted elsewhere, I'm in between P90X rounds and started a routine from Men's Health this week. Like a dummy, I didn't warm up my legs like I should have, and paid for it with sore quads for 2 days.

Now I'm doing the standard warm-up and cool-down from the P90X vids, and have felt much better for it.

I second the poster who stated you need to warm-up prior to stretching. A little jogging in place or jump-rope to get your heart beating is important, otherwise you risk a tear...especially like me working out in a garage during an Ohio winter.

Regarding running, I understand the current thinking is to start with a light jog rather than stretching cold legs.

Nifft

It is very important to warm up with 10 minutes aerobic work. It’s usually best to start a warm-up session by performing the same exercise as the intended aerobic or cardio workout. For example, if you intend to jog for 20 minutes then walk for 3 minutes, walk briskly for a further 3 minutes, then do a few minutes very light jogging.

I have this ab workout DVD where the instructor and the other members warm up for 5 minutes before starting the ab routines.

A thorough warm up can put your mind and body in the right zone for you to have an effective workout!

One of the best ways to warm up from what I've heard is to do a lower-intensity version of whatever exercise you'll be doing: if it's running, warm up by walking a lap, jogging another, then running.