Maybe you know the so-called warm-up and cool-down from our app and thought to yourself, when does the actual workout begin? If you are someone who puts more emphasis on the actual workout and doesn't like to warm up before the workout, let alone cool down after the workout, then you might rethink it after this post.
Warming up prepares your body for the upcoming workout. Warming up increases the body temperature and blood flow to the muscles. This allows you to perform better during your workout. More importantly, it also reduces your risk of injury.
Warming up reduces the risk of tearing a muscle or something similar during a movement. You can think of muscles as rubber bands. When they are warm, they can be stretched without problems. However, when they are cold, they tend to tear when they are stretched.
That's why you should start moving your body slowly before training. For example, jumping rope or jumping jacks are good ways to do this. If you are training with heavy weights, it is a good idea to do some warm-up exercises with light weights.
Just as important as warming up is cooling down after a workout. Even if you probably don't feel like doing an extra session after a strenuous workout, it would still be important. Without cooling down, blood can pool in your muscles and keep your blood pressure high. Even a short cool-down session can counteract this and promote recovery. For example, if you've been jogging, it's a good idea to trot loosely after your session and then do a little stretching. I hope that I have made it clear to you how important warm-up and cool-down are and that you will not simply leave them out in the future.
