Functional Warm Up
The exercises in this video are some of my favorites to include in my warm up. Whether I’m getting ready for a run or strength workout, these exercises increase joint mobility, lengthen muscle tissue, and activate muscles that will need to be working in order to support my movements. A proper warm up and cool down go a long way in avoiding injury during workouts. Below is a description of each exercise.
- Ankle Mobility. When you walk, run, squat, and lunge, your ankles have to bend. If they don’t, your body will find the movement elsewhere and this can cause injury. The goal of this exercise is to increase ankle bend prior to your workout. Tips: keep your heel down, push your knee straight over your toes.
- Hip Mobility. We do a lot of sitting so the muscles in the front of our hip and our hip joint can get stiff. But our hips need to straighten behind us. If they don’t our back can take more stress than it should. Stretching the front of our hips helps our hips straighten during our workout. Tips: keep your core tight, squeeze your butt muscles as you push forward, don’t arch your back.
- Glute and Core Firing. Your glute and core muscles are stabilizing muscles. But they like to be lazy. If you don’t get them firing prior to a workout it can cause other parts of your body like your knees and spine to take more stress than they should. Tips: squeeze your butt muscles as you kick, don’t arch your back, drive your knee towards your opposite shoulder pulling your belly button in.
- Hamstring Stretching. Your hamstrings need to be able to shorten and lengthen as you exercise. Lengthening them prior to your workout helps them prepare for this. Tips: keep your back straight, bent at your hips.
- Quad Stretching. Your quad muscles also need to be ready to shorten and lengthen as you exercise. Quick stretching before a workout is ok rather than stretching with long holds because you’re not trying to improve flexibility, you’re just getting your muscles ready to move. Tips: straighten your hip and bend your knee, don’t arch your back, hold onto something for balance if needed.