Do you know what the best warm up before exercise is? (hint: it is not stretching)
The myth that stretching before a workout prevents injuries still prevails, so many fitness buffs continue to waste a lot of time stretching before they start exercising. After analyzing the results of six controlled studies, scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could find no relationship between pre-exercise stretching and injury prevention. In fact, vigorous stretching before exercise, when muscles are cold and therefore less supple, produces less benefit and may even leave your tendons more susceptible to injury. We support stretching but believe it is most effective after your workout when your muscles are already warm.
The best, most efficient way to prevent injury is to increase blood flow to all of your major muscle groups gradually with semi-challenging dynamic movements that increase your heart rate and prepare your muscles for the more strenuous exercises to follow.
Examples of time-efficient and effective warm-up exercises include squats without weights, overhead reaches, lunging side to side with opposite elbow touching opposite knee, and alternating high knee raises with arm swings. The warm-up should actually get your heart rate elevated. In fact, if you are not in particularly good shape the warm-up might actually feel like a workout! But that’s okay. You don’t necessarily want your warm-up to be easy. If you haven’t elevated your heart rate and you aren’t feeling warm then you are not warmed up and you are not ready to start the real workout. Once you get your heart rate elevated and have warmed up, you’ll want to get on with your workout and then stretch at the end, when it will do the most good.
Best Warm-Up Before Exercise Video