Pulling a Muscle Stinks!
That’s why warming up might be the single most important part of
your workout. Muscles are made of living tissue. They’re essentially biological
machines that require a steady stream of balanced oxygen, hormones and
nutrients to perform optimally. Work the muscle too hard without proper care
and injury
ensues. Here we look at four pro warm-up tips you might not be doing.
Eat and Drink
Proper Nutrition and hydration are the first steps to having the
best workout you can get. Research shows
study participants who ate an hour before exercise, on average, had better
performance. Which makes sense, your body is living tissue that requires a set
of balanced nutrition delivered to it to function properly. If you choose not
to eat before you exercise, your tired muscles still need the boost. Eating
after a workout will still have some benefit and deliver those much-needed
nutrients.
Use Muscle Soothing Lotion
Overworked and strained muscles can be a major bummer. To ease
them and help avoid them in the first place the market has a wide variety of
rubs and creams that can help. An anti-inflammatory lotion helps loosen muscles by reducing
inflammation. Relaxed muscles feel
better and are a lot harder to pull. It’s important to remember most ointments
should not be applied to an open wound or damaged skin. Using them with a
heating pad can also have adverse effects. And remember, with some ingredients
used in creams and you should always avoid touching your eyes or any other
sensitive area directly after application.
Loosen Up
Before you start exercising, it’s important to gently warm up your
body before you begin working your muscles too hard, walking is a great way to
do that. Walking begins blood flow and wakes up your muscles by increasing the
reach of oxygen-rich blood throughout the body. Mark Fenton developed a technique
involving ankle circles, leg swings, pelvic hoops, and arm circles to activate
your entire body that prepares your body for the big stuff. Experts suggest
five to ten minutes of this before beginning your work out- longer if you have
sore or achy muscles from a previous session.
Dynamic Stretching
Stretching is an important part of physical fitness with great
benefits, such as improved flexibility and motor skill but are we doing it at
the right time? Stretching used to be the first step to many popular workout
routines - but now we know better. Stretching is important but to avoid the
overworking of a muscle, it should not come first. Glenn Harris from Boston
University Athletics also
suggests people use what’s called a ‘dynamic’ stretching technique where you
focus on bringing your body through its range of motions using gentle motions
instead of using the ‘static stretching’ technique which is the 'reach your
toes and hold' you probably learned in gym class.
Warming up just might be the most important part of your exercise.
Find a routine you enjoy and don’t skip it. Listen to your body cues and don’t
push it harder than it's ready to go. After all, a good warm-up shouldn’t tire
you, it’s only the preparation for the real butt-kicking to come.
