Getting off the couch and into an exercise program? Great! But before the urge to be Sylvester Stallone takes hold, remember to warm up before your workout.
You may be psyched to pump iron and dump calories, but you could do more damage than good if you jump right into a marathon run or body-building routine without taking the time to bring your body up to speed.
The idea of taking five to 10 minutes to warm up is to literally "warm up" your body, or raise the core temperature of your body and your muscles. This allows the muscles to burn calories more efficiently and create energy for exercise. Warm-ups also help prevent injury by improving the elasticity of your muscles, give you better muscle control and lessen fatigue, according to the American Council on Exercise.
What's a warm-up?
Some people wrongly believe a warm-up is doing a bit of bending and stretching beforehand. Stretching is not warming up. A warm-up should consist of a progressive aerobic activity that uses the muscles you plan on exercising during your workout. Some people opt to include flexibility or stretching exercises after they have completed this progressive aerobic activity.
A general warm-up can be any light, continuous movements using the large muscle groups: for instance, marching or jogging in place. Whatever warm-up you choose should produce a small amount of sweat but shouldn't leave you feeling fatigued.
Starting an exercise program
Before embarking on any fitness program, talk to your doctor. To get fit and lose weight, follow some basic principles.
Concentrate on any aerobic exercise, such as walking, jogging and cycling that is continuous and uses large muscle groups. Attempt at least 15 minutes to start and add another minute every one or two workouts until you reach at least 30 minutes most days of the week. To avoid relapse, choose an exercise that you enjoy and perhaps change the type of exercise periodically.
Regularity is an important principle. A consistent effort will get results.
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External Source
 | American Council on Exercise
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This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.
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