It still amazes me after 20 years of being a personal trainer just how many people skip the warm-up when they workout. It is seen as an inconvenience and a waste of time by many who think they can get straight out of the car and right working out at full capacity. If you watch any professional athlete prepare for their match or event, you will find they NEVER skip their warm-up for they know how important it is to their performance. Not only is the warm up pivotal to their sporting success, it is vital in preventing any unwanted injury that could derail their career. What does a good warm up consist of? Well, this can vary on many factors, such as if it is for a sport, gym, what age you are, and what injuries you may have. To help guide you on selecting the right warm-up routine for your body, we will explain the key things each warm-up must include and we provide several specific examples of what it would look like. Enjoy
When Is The Best Time To Stretch, Before Or After Exercise?
The importance of maintaining our flexibility or mobility of joints in order to move well is very important but just how is it best to do that. We have all been convinced that spending time holding static stretches is the best way and we should always do this before exercise to prevent any injuries. If there is one thing I have learned over the last 20 years of working in rehabilitation with people suffering severe injuries to elite athletes looking for sporting performance it is that there are no absolutes, there is no black and white, there is only a lot of grey area. And when it comes to stretching not only are many of the age old beliefs incorrect, but the exact opposite is what is required! But not always! This is definitely one of the most confusing topics to discuss, as many times I will contradict myself and say do not do this, and the very next minute I tell that is exactly what you should do! The reason for this contradiction is we are all very unique with what out body needs, we just have to be smart and listen to the signals our body is giving us. One thing is for certain we all need to devote some time to restoring optimal flexibility. How we might do this can vary a lot, which is what I will show you in this article.