Why you need to warm up before your workouts and gym routine. How should you gear up?

Warm-ups gradually start a slow combustion, allow your muscles to peak, stretch and contract optimally. They increase your heart rate, blood flow and enable more oxygen to reach your muscles, says holistic health expert Dr Mickey Mehta

Warm-ups gradually increase your enthusiasm and excitement to work out. (Photo: Getty Images/Thinkstock)

4 min readNew DelhiJan 31, 2023 05:28 PM IST First published on: Jan 31, 2023 at 05:28 PM IST

The common mistake that most people make, primarily because they are stretched for time, is to cut down on warm-ups before a workout or any form of exercise. They are very important for pumping life force into our bodies. They gradually start a slow combustion, allow your muscles to peak, stretch and contract optimally. They increase your heart rate, blood flow and enable more oxygen to reach your muscles. A warm-up also activates and primes the connections between your nerve and muscles, which improves the efficiency of movement. Additionally, your range of motion (flexibility) increases by dynamic stretching.

Warm-ups gradually increase your enthusiasm and excitement to work out. They give rise to our “happy hormones,” release endorphins and if done in the sun, release serotonin. Warm-ups, if done to music, raise oxytocin levels.

Warm-ups generally prime your body before a workout so that you do not get injuries and spasms. They should be done slowly and in a relaxed manner. They are an integral part of any and every workout, be it yoga, calisthenics, weight training, zumba or aerobics. They help the body achieve an optimal body temperature, high enough for a great workout and better blood circulation to the muscles. Warm muscles increase energy production, increasing reflexes and lowering the time it takes to contract a muscle. A good warm-up should also increase your range of motion and mentally prepare you for exercise.

Dynamic exercises provide a stretch through a full range of motion. After dynamic stretches, your muscles should be moving freely through your full range, and that is when it is time to increase the intensity. Warm-ups provide the fundamental movements for the body to gear you up for this stage. Warming up in groups generally helps as gym members have different workouts on different days but the workout can unite them. That becomes very infectious and in the flow, you tend to warm up a bit more. That really helps you.

Generally, it’s believed that warm-ups should be 10 per cent of your workout but usually, they contribute to much more. If done right, they provide maximum advantages such as oxygenation and better blood circulation, leaving behind lesser by-products of combustion, that is lactic acid build-up. So your oxidative stress would be less if you warm up well.

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To start with, begin some neck movements. Then proceed to the following for a gradual warm-up:

Waist movements: Stand with legs slightly apart. Place the palms on your waist and slowly start rotating in clockwise and anti-clockwise directions. In a clockwise direction, inhale as you go from right to left and exhale as you go from left to right. In an anti-clockwise direction, inhale as you go from left to right and exhale as you go from right to left. Repeat five times in each direction. Follow with sideward bending and twisting movements.

Hand raises (up and front): Stand with legs apart. Stretch out your palms, inhale as you lift your arms up, exhale, fist up your hand and bring it down towards your shoulder, synchronising it with lifting your toes up and coming down as you exhale. Then inhale and open your palms in front of you at shoulder level and exhale, fist up and bring it back towards your shoulder. Repeat 10 times. This hand raises up and the front moves rhythmically.

Leg raise: Inhale, while you raise your hands up from the front side. Then exhale, fold your right leg up and touch your ankles. Continuously inhale, raise your hand from the backside and exhale, bring your hand down from the front side, raise your left leg up and touch your ankles. Repeat 10 times on each side. Relax, breathe in and breathe out deeply. Then we can begin with the workout.

One who knows how to warm up slowly with patience will also be able to calm their mind. If you are looking for a more simpler approach then walking and jogging also work.

(Dr Mehta has trained Bollywood superstars Akshay Kumar, Preity Zinta, billionaires, politicians, Miss World/Miss Universe candidates and the Maharashtra Police. A best-selling author, he has been appointed FIT India Movement Champion by the Sports Authority of India).