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Exercising Without the
Proper Warm Up
For many people, exercising
seems problematic enough. After all, schedules these days are so busy that
it's a wonder some people have time to even stop to take a breath, let alone
exercise. So, if you've set aside time to
exercise each week, you're doing
better than a lot of other people.
The trouble is, though, that exercise routines themselves are not the only
thing to consider, if you want to get in shape without major risks. You also
have to consider, for example, allowing time to
warm up before you exercise.
I Don't Have Time To Warm Up:
That's a common argument. It's hard enough to find
time to exercise. Making
extra time to warm up is out of the question. It takes too long. Well,
that's not necessarily true. For some people, if it's done right, a warm up
only needs to be five minutes long or so.
Still thinking five minutes is too long? Well, you have to weigh that
against the time wasted if you don't bother warming up at all. You're going
to make your exercise routine much less efficient, which means that you're
going to have to exercise a lot more often than you otherwise might, for one
thing. You're also leaving yourself more
prone to injuries, which we'll
discuss in a minute. First, let's talk about varying your warm up.
Warm Up Variations:
There are two ways that a standard five minute warm up can vary. The first
is the length of the warm up. You should do a longer warm up, for example,
if you're out of shape, in general. You should also do a longer warm up if
you haven't exercised in a while. For example, if you only
exercise on the
weekends, you need to definitely increase the time of your warm up routine.
By the way, only exercising on weekends is really not a great idea. You
should really try to exercise three to four days a week, if possible, and
preferably take breaks in between – providing you’re fit enough.
The other way that a warm up can vary is in type. It's important to warm up
the muscle groups that you plan to use during your workout. So, you should
tailor your warm up routine to whatever
workout you plan to do. It does no
good, after all, to warm up muscles that you don't plan to use.
What Warm Ups Actually Do:
There are many ways that warm ups can help your body and that lack of warm
ups can hurt your body. You might consider warming up before you exercise to
be more important, once you understand how warm ups work.
Blood Flow:
Almost 85 percent of the body's blood tends to collect in vital organs when
you are sedentary. It is, after all, needed in places like the kidneys and
liver all the time. It's needed in your arms and legs when you use them, of
course. When you don't, though, the body reassigns that blood to areas that
can use it.
If you insist on exercising without warming up, your body's blood vessels
don't have the time needed to release the blood to the right areas in the
proper way. Instead, blood is forced through vessels that haven't dilated
all the way yet. That means a massive increase in blood pressure.
Now, if you already have high blood pressure to begin with, jumping straight
into exercising without warming up can be very dangerous and possibly even
fatal. Even if you're generally healthy, though, boosting your blood
pressure in such a way can cause problems, including dizzy spells and
fainting.
Another side effect of all that, is that your
muscles aren't going to be
getting enough oxygen because the blood isn't flowing properly. At best that
means that muscles aren't going to be as responsive and your
workout won't
be as effective. The worst scenario, though, is that you can actually damage
your heart and possibly even have a heart attack. So, just that ought to be
enough to convince you that a five-minute warm up is worth it. There's more,
though.
Injuries:
There are a lot of injuries that you can get while exercising. The chances
of getting such injuries is much higher if you don't warm up before you
exercise. Why? Well, warming up loosens up your
muscles and your joints. For
example, many people suffer from back problems if they don't warm up
properly. Other problems include strains, sprains and tears of various
muscles. Part of all this is also to do with the fact that warming up
increases flexibility and range of motion. Without that, joints and muscles
are often stiff and easy to injure.
Energy Versus Exhaustion:
Remember that a good warm up is going to depend on your own
fitness level at
the time, the type of workout you plan to do and the equipment that you have
available. You may just want to go for a short walk or jog to warm up. On
the other hand, you may prefer using some equipment, like a
rowing machine.
In any case, start out slow and just get your heart pumping a bit faster and
always gradually. The idea here, is not to make yourself too exhausted to
work out. It's to energize your body. In fact, a great warm up should also
energize your mind and enable you to focus more on the task ahead.
Finally, although warming up is a vital part of exercising, you shouldn't
neglect the power of other things, like the cool down. Cooling down allows
your heart rate to slowly return to normal and the blood pressure in your
body to slowly return to normal. It's also a great way to reduce mental
stress and drift into a state of relaxation. That way, you can enjoy a sense
of accomplishment and be happy knowing that you've done the exercises that
you set out to do for the day.
The Potential Problems from Injuries
Caused Through Exercising Badly
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before starting any new diet.
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