Did you know that warming up your muscles and joints before working out can prevent your body from being at risk of injury?
By taking a moment to transition your mind and body into your workout, you can make your mind more aware of the sensations in your body and prevent damaging movements.
Here are five simple steps to complete before beginning that will introduce your mind, muscles, and joints to your workout.
1) Connect your mind, body, and breath.
Before you begin your workouts, it is important to warm up your muscles. The same goes for your mind.
When you are ready to begin, take a moment to close your eyes and focus on your breath. Take ten deep breaths.
Notice how your chest feels while you breathe. Notice how your breath moves your body. Relax your face, neck, and shoulders. Notice if this is difficult or easy to do.
Tuning into your body in this way can help you notice when you are moving your body in unhealthy ways.
2) Loosen up your spine.
Your spine carries messages from your brain to your body, so you should be certain it’s moving smoothly before you begin. As it is connected to almost every muscle in your torso, any workout is going to require mobility of the spine.
Continue your deep breathing from step one, and begin extending (or arching) and flexing (or curving) your spine, moving your torso in a wave-like motion. This stretches the muscles between your ribs, side body, inner shoulder, and neck.
Next, place your hands on your hips and draw your elbows back behind you. Tilt your right ear down to your right shoulder. Then tilt your right shoulder down toward your right hip, bending to the side. Inhale as you stack your spine back to neutral. Repeat on the left side. Do this at least three times on each side.
The last motion to make with your spine is a twist to both sides. Take a stance the width of your hips, activate your core to lock your hips into place. Reach your arms out to the sides and inhale. Turn your chest to the right as you keep your hips facing forward. Reach the left hand forward and the right hand backward, looking over your right shoulder. Inhale to untwist, and exhale to twist to the left. Repeat at least three times on each side.
3) Train your core to stay active.
Anytime you bear weight greater than three pounds, your core must get involved.
The inner thighs, pelvic floor, diaphragm, abdominals, and obliques are all major components of a stable core. These muscles keep the hips in their optimal position for bearing weight. When your hips are not in this position, you may experience stress in the lower back and weakness in the upper body.
For the third step of your warm up, align your heels below your hip sockets and point the tailbone down at the heels. Slightly bend your knees, lift your kneecaps and draw your inner thighs up and in toward your pelvis. Draw the pubic bone up toward your belly-button, and draw your belly button back to your spine. Squeeze the muscles together between your pubic bone and tailbone, known as your pelvic floor.
Now your entire core is engaged. Place your hands over your belly, just below your navel. Take five deep breaths with your core engaged, making sure your belly does not expand into your hands on your inhales. Rather, your chest should expand up and out during your inhales.
4) Warm up your major joints.
Now that your core is trained to stay active and your spine is moving freely, it’s time for your major joints – the hips, knees, shoulders, and elbows – to get moving too.
Maintain your activated core from step three while you welcome a bend in the knees when you exhale. Straighten the knees and press the hips forward as you inhale.
When you inhale, raise your arms up overhead. When you exhale, swing your arms down. Continue this bending and swinging with your breath, experimenting with all the different directions your arms can move – forward, backward, outward, inward – exploring the range of motion in your shoulders.
5) Warm up your minor joints.
Prepare your smaller joints for movement to finish up your warm up.
Make fists and roll your wrists around in circles for ten breaths, changing directions halfway through. Open the hands, spreading the fingers as wide as possible. Draw circles for ten more breaths, changing directions halfway through.
The last part is best done without shoes. Take a seat or challenge your balance as you warm up your ankles and toes. Draw circles in the air with your feet for ten breaths, switching directions halfway through. Then spread your toes as wide as you can and wiggle them for ten breaths.
Now that your entire body has tested its range of motion and your mind has noticed what healthy movement feels like, you are prepared to maintain healthy alignment during your workout.
To ensure safety during all of your workouts, contact us at Merritt Clubs and we can connect you with a personal trainer or group fitness class that fits your needs.
