Hi friends,

This week, I want to talk to you about something that often goes overlooked when it comes to exercise.

When we were kids, we didn’t think about needing to warmup before playing a sport or exercising. However, as we age, the importance of performing a proper warmup is paramount to preventing injury and giving us the best chance of longevity in whichever activity we want to continue doing.

A warmup helps to:

• Increase body temperature and blood flow

• Improve flexibility and range of motion

• Enhance muscle activation and coordination

• Mentally prepare us for the upcoming activity

Think of it like a car starting on a cold winter day. You wouldn’t turn on the car and then immediately floor it. Instead, you’d let the car run for a while before slowly easing into higher speeds.

Your body is no different, yet so many people go out and jump right into lifting weights, playing soccer, and running without properly preparing their bodies for the task at hand.

The good news is that you don’t need to spend a large amount of time warming up. In general, 5-10 minutes beforehand can suffice.

I like to first warmup with something to increase my body temperature and heart rate. This could include jogging, cycling, or dynamic stretching.

It’s also important to mimic the task that you’re going to be performing at a lower intensity. For a bench press, I start with a lower weight to get a feel for the movement and ensure that my technique is spot on. Before playing golf, I start with small swings with a wedge before full swings with the driver.

Warming up doesn’t need to be a complicated process, but it is a crucial piece to improving performance and mitigating injury risk.

Keep it simple. Do something that increases your heart rate for roughly ten minutes, then perform a sport or activity-specific movement to prime your muscles and nervous system for the upcoming task.

Until next week,

Kevin