Let Your Joints Catch Up
Warm-ups often seem like the most boring part of your workout routine, but they’re actually the most important. They provide your body with an opportunity for your body to loosen up a bit before you put it to work, and it’s especially important if your role usually involves you sitting for hours on end. You don’t need to push your body to its absolute limit, but a little warning to your physical self is never a bad thing. Here are 20 warm-up exercises you can do before any physical activity.
1. Arm Circles
Stand up tall, soften your elbows, and start making small circles with your arms. Let them gradually get bigger as your shoulders start to loosen up a bit. The trick here is keeping your ribs stacked over your hips. You want the movement to live in your shoulder joint, not your lower back.
2. Hip Circles
Pop your hands on your hips and draw slow, lazy circles with your pelvis. Keep your chest quiet, knees softly bent, and don't go too big, especially if your hips feel tight first thing in the morning.
3. Leg Swings
Hold onto a wall or a sturdy chair and swing one leg forward and back like a gentle pendulum. Start small. Only let the range grow if your hamstrings and hip flexors actually feel ready for it. Here, it’s important not just let your leg whip around. It’s all about control.
4. Walking Lunges, With A Twist
Step into a comfortable lunge, then slowly rotate your upper body toward the front leg. Step through to the next lunge and do the same on the other side. This exercise warms up your hips, ankles, and midsection all at once.
5. High Knees March
March on the spot, lifting one knee at a time to a comfortable height. Add a little arm swing to bring your whole body into it. This lower-impact move still gets your heart rate racing even if you’re moving a little bit slower.
6. Heel-To-Toe Walks
Walk forward in a straight line, placing your heel down first, then rolling through to your toes. This seemingly simple exercise gives your ankles and feet a proper wake-up call, which is especially important if your workout involves squats, lunges, or even just a brisk walk.
7. Inchworms To Plank
From standing, hinge at your hips and walk your hands out to a plank position before walking back to standing. Bend your knees as much as you need. If a full plank feels like too much right now, shorten the distance. The goal is smooth shoulder and core engagement, nothing more.
8. Low-Impact Jumping Jacks
Instead of jumping, step one foot out at a time and sweep your arms up and down as you would with classic jacks. This modified move has the same effect on your shoulders and heart rate, but is far kinder on your ankles, knees, and pelvic floor.
9. Shoulder Rolls
Slowly move your shoulders forward, up, back, and down the back to loosen up your upper body. You’ll probably notice that one shoulder feels a little tighter than the other, so take some extra time to work on any sore areas before continuing your workout.
10. Ankle Circles
Lift one foot slightly off the floor, and trace slow circles with your toes, like you're drawing a small coin in the air. Switch directions, then switch ankles. It might not seem like a big help, but we promise your feet will thank you later on.
11. Standing Torso Twists
Stand with feet about hip-width apart and rotate your upper body side to side. Let your arms swing lightly with the twist, keep your hips mostly forward, and don't push the range so far that your lower back starts to protest.
12. Gentle Butt Kicks
Jog or march in place, bringing your heel toward your glutes with a relaxed rhythm. Focus on a light pull from the hamstring rather than forcing the knee bend. This exercise warms up the backs of your legs without asking your joints to absorb a hard landing.
13. Slow Side Lunges
Step out to one side, sit your hips back a little, and keep the other leg relatively straight without locking that knee. Push back to the centre and switch sides. Go slowly enough that you can actually feel your glutes and inner thighs waking up.
14. Arm Swings Across The Body
This upper back and chest stretch is a great option before any strength-based training workout. Swing your arms across your chest and then open them wide again. Keep the motion easy and let your shoulders just glide. Just try not to let your chin move forward as you complete the stretch.
15. March In Place With Arm Reaches
March on the spot and reach one arm overhead at a time, like you're calmly grabbing something from a high shelf. Keep your ribs from flaring out, and let the reach come from your shoulder and upper back rather than arching your whole spine back.
16. Knee Lifts With Rotation
Lift one knee toward your chest, then gently rotate your torso toward it. Switch sides. Keep the movement smooth, keep your stance grounded, and let your hips stay steady. This stretch warms up your core for workouts, but also for the daily requirements your abs must fulfill.
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17. Wrist Flexor And Extensor Swings
Extend your arms in front of you and gently swing your hands up and down at the wrists, like you're shaking water off your fingertips. Then trace slow circles with your wrists. This matters a lot if you'll be doing planks, push-ups, or any kind of lifting.
18. Cat-Cow
Come down to hands and knees and alternate between gently arching your back and rounding it, moving slowly through your spine. Keep your elbows soft so your wrists and shoulders stay happy. It tends to take the edge off that morning stiffness in a way that nothing else quite does.
19. Bird-Dogs
From hands and knees, extend one arm and the opposite leg, hold for a steady breath, then switch sides. Keep your hips level and your head in line with your spine. That's how the work stays in your core and glutes rather than dumping into your lower back. If balance feels wobbly, just shorten your reach and focus on staying controlled.
20. Wall-Supported Partial Squats
Stand with your back against a wall and slide down just a little, stopping well before any knee discomfort, then press back up. Keep your feet far enough from the wall that you feel stable, and don't fixate on depth. This stretch wakes up your quads and glutes nicely, especially before doing any lower-body workouts.
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