Warm-ups are one of the most important aspects of any exercise regimen — despite the fact that they’re often neglected. A good warm up only takes five to 10 minutes, yet they’re essential for helping you st hey prime your muscles for the work that’s about to come; without them, your body is susceptible to injury.
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For any warm up, be sure to gently use the muscles you are planning to work during your session. That means if it’s upper-body day, don’t just go for a short run; you’ll want to also perform some upper-body warm-up moves, such as arm circles.
Below, we’ve come up with a dynamic warm up routine that can be completed in five minutes and will get you ready for any workout to come.
The Warm Up
These moves are super simple, but they’ll get your heart rate up and ensure you get an adequate warm-up before you perform any strength or cardio routine. These moves are easy to do at a gym, outside, or even at home. Remember, it’s important to be gentle during your warm-ups. This isn’t the time to push yourself, so just get the blood moving and the muscles warm.
High Knees
- Make sure you have enough space to move in a forward motion across the ground.
- You will want to hike your right knee up to your chest.
- As you lower your right knee, you’ll simultaneously hike your left knee up to your chest.
- Complete this pattern in a fluid series.
- To decrease the intensity of the movement, you can perform the knee hikes in place.
This movement raises the heart rate and stretches out the leg and butt muscles. Do this for 30 seconds before moving on to butt kicks.
Butt Kicks
A warm-up isn’t complete without some classic butt kicks.
- Again, make sure that you have enough space to move forward.
- This movement helps to engage the hamstring and butt muscles so they are ready to go for the workout.
- Kick your right foot up to the right side of your butt.
- As you lower it, simultaneously kick your left foot up to the left side of your butt.
- Complete this pattern for 30 seconds to quickly to fire up the muscles.
T-Planks
- Start in the plank position with hands below shoulders and a neutral neck.
- Raise your right arm up straight to the ceiling as you open the side of your body to the right side.
- Hold for a couple of counts and then lower back into the plank position.
- From there, raise your left arm straight up to the ceiling as you open the side of your body to the left side.
- Hold this side for a couple of counts and come back to the start for one repetition. Do 30 seconds on each side.
This move works to open up the chest, shoulder, and arm muscles so you are ready to tackle any upper-body exercises.
Bodyweight Squats
Squats are the ultimate full-body exercise, so they are important to include in any warm-up.
- Start in a hip-width standing position with feet pointed outward at 45-degree angles.
- Lower your butt back and down until your knees are at a 90-degree angle in relation to the ground.
- Contract your glutes as you rise back to the standing position for one repetition. Continue for a full minute before moving on to arm circles.
Arm Circles
Arm circles are simple, yet effective.
- Start in a standing position and reach both arms out to your sides.
- Simultaneously circle them forward to stretch and increase mobility in the shoulder joints.
You can increase the size of the arm circles or reverse the direction of the circles to stretch out different parts of the shoulder muscle. Do this for a minute.
Lunges In Place
This move stretches out the legs and specifically warms up the inner thigh and hip flexor muscles.
- Begin in a standing position and step your right foot forward.
- Bend the right knee into a 90-degree angle and hold to open up the hip.
- Step back to the starting position and repeat on the same lunge forward on the left side to complete one repetition. Do these for one minute and voila! You’re ready for your workout.