When you warm up your body properly before starting a workout, you can reduce the risk of injury and also make the most out of your session. But, the problem that most people encounter is figuring out a proper warm-up routine. You can only warm-up properly when you are able to achieve stability through movement. Most people just do a couple of stretching exercises and believe it is enough, but if you do not combine them with other movements, then they might not be ideal.
Some of the best warm-up exercises you can do before you start working out are highlighted below.
Bodyweight squats
An excellent warm-up exercise, bodyweight squats are good for warming up the hip flexor muscles, glutes, hamstrings, calves, abs and quadriceps. If you plan on doing squats during your workout, you should add them to your warm-up routine. Bear in mind that these are a compound exercise, which means you can warm up multiple muscles through bodyweight squats and prepare your central nervous system for work.
90-90
You can use the 90-90 movement for opening up your hips via external and internal rotation. Even though it might seem like a passive stretch, the 90-90 move is actually very active and your gluteus muscles are also stretched.
Banded row
Sometimes, it can be difficult to feel movements that you perform at the back of your body. If you want to ensure proper form and get the results you are after, you need to have a strong mind and muscle connection. You can activate your back muscles through a banded row. This particular exercise is also good for warming up your shoulder blades and joints.
Bird dog
Another exercise that is great for warming up is bird dog because it warms up your lower back and abs. You can activate your core muscles through this exercise, as it also supports the spine and the movement also benefits your hip flexors and glutes.
Wall angels
One of the best dynamic stretches that you can do for your spine, joints and upper back muscles are wall angels. It is an active stretching warm-up exercise, which is also great for loosening tight and achy neck muscles. Your shoulder mobility and thoracic spine is also challenged via wall angels, which makes it the perfect warm-up exercise if you are going to do overhead pressing, squats, or other exercises that use depend on your thoracic spine mobility.
Gate opener
The core, pelvic and lower body muscles are the focus when you do the gate opener exercise. It can improve your range of motion and mobility and also creates balance and stability. If you do the gate opener exercise during warm-up, then you can prepare the muscles that run through your pelvis, lower back region and femurs. You can stabilize your back in this way and also protect them from injury when they are activated during the warm-up period. Bear in mind that you should perform gate openers on each side.
