Warm-up Exercises You Can Do At Home
Doing warm-up exercises before any workout is something that should never be overlooked, whether you train at home or outside.
The problem is that it is not always given the importance it deserves, especially when we prepare to go for a run or ride a bicycle or we are preparing to exercise at home with the help of an application or a video. The same is true when you train in the gym.
In this sense, it must be borne in mind that it is not enough to start slowly. This can be useful, for example, to raise the body temperature, but it is not enough.
Suitable warm-up exercises to do at home
Joint mobilization exercises and dynamic stretching are essential to start a good warm-up, especially if you are going to train outdoors and if it is cold. These types of exercises do not take long and help to prepare the body, not only to prevent injuries, but also to take advantage of the effort.
Joint mobilization exercises
Joint mobilization, in addition to greasing the joints , helps to make the muscles more flexible. This type of exercise prepares the body for intense movements, stimulating the nervous system, muscles and tendons in a very dynamic way.
These types of joint mobilizations include rotations of the wrists, elbows, shoulders, neck, spine, hips, knees, and ankles. Flexion-extension movements can also be done, especially if they are related to the exercises to be performed later.
Some of the more interesting joint mobilization workouts include the following:
- Elevation of shoulders: towards the ears and recovery of the initial position.
- Shoulder rotations: forward and backward.
- Full arm circles: forward and backward as well.
- Hip Circles – Inward, then outward.
- Leg swings: back and forth and side to side.
- Cross arm circles: forward and backward, keeping the arms parallel to the ground.
- Walking jacks : this is the low impact version of the jumping jack . A lateral step is taken to the side, raising the arms at the sides and lowering them again. It is repeated to the other side.
Dynamic stretching
Once joint mobility is done, it is good to move on to dynamic stretching exercises. These are a very suitable type of warm-up to get your whole body going at home.
The problem with static stretches is that they need the body to be warm to be effective. By doing them in dynamic mode, we get the muscles to give little by little while we continue to work on joint mobility.
Some interesting dynamic stretches are as follows:
- Knees to Chest: This consists of alternately raising the knees and hugging them against the chest to maximize the stretch.
- Walk outs : start with your feet hip-width apart and your arms at your sides. Then flex your hips to reach the ground with your hands and crawl into a high plank position. Pause briefly and then slide your hands down to your feet and stand up.
- Side lunges: spread your legs with your feet facing forward. Bend one knee and lower your hips slightly. Then shift the weight to the other side. Repeat several times.
- Frankenstein walk : it consists of walking with the legs stretched out, raising them as much as possible, touching the foot with the hand.
Aerobic movements
Aerobic movements are warm-up exercises that you can do at home and for which you will not need a lot of space. Once you have done joint mobilization and dynamic stretching, you can choose the following:
- March on site: it is important that you walk with a military air, raising your knees and moving your arms in a coordinated way, exaggerating the gesture a bit.
- Gentle jogging by raising the knees: it is the same as the previous one, but adding the intensity of the jog and, perhaps, reducing the elevation of the knees.
- Skipping: If you’re going for a run, skipping is a good way to warm up before heading out. Also, it will improve your technique.
- Jump rope: this exercise can be included in the warm-up in order to gain intensity.
Heating is key
Warm-up exercises are important to prepare the body for the subsequent exercise. Spending at least 10 minutes will prepare you for better performance and to prevent injury.
If you are going to exercise outdoors it is important that you warm up at home, especially if it is cold and it is winter season. Even if you go to the gym, having the warm-up done — or at least part of it — will allow you to start training doing what you like the most.
