Tag Archives: warm up

Say So Long to Old-School Stretches

Your junior high school P.E. teacher had it all wrong. If you grew up in the 70s like I did you were likely taught the importance of warm-up exercises and how holding stretches for at least 20 seconds was essential. Well, time has moved on and now scientists maintain that some of those tried and true stretches you did in 7th grade are not only a waste of time but also are bad for you. According to researchers, the belief that holding a stretch for 20 to 30 seconds (known as static stretching) primes muscles for a workout is not … Continue reading →

Should You Warm Up Before Golf?

Should you warm up before you head out to the golf course? Too often when we think of golf, we don’t think of it as a sport that can get your muscles heated up or actually create a strain on your body that will be worse if you don’t warm up or stretch out before you hit the golf course. But let’s think about this, stretching before a game can help prevent tendon injuries that may occur when your muscles are cold. Golf is a Game of Repetitive Motion You perform a number of repetitive motions when you are playing … Continue reading →

Fitness Tips: Healthy Mistakes

The title sounds like an oxymoron, I know. But there are a lot of healthy mistakes we all make and the scary thing is, we don’t even recognize them as mistakes when we do them. Mistake Number One: Sleeping in on the Weekends We get up early all week long, so turning off the alarm and just sleeping in a few extra hours on the weekend sounds like a great plan. Unfortunately, most people who sleep in late when they get up early the rest of the week face a problem called sleep inertia – they are groggy and have … Continue reading →

The Do’s and Don’ts of Stretching

Stretching is an important part of overall fitness. It can improve range of motion and flexibility. Be sure to use correct form when you are stretching and in the meanwhile, here are some do’s and don’ts to keep yourself on track. Do: Stretch after a warm up and perform them with slow deliberateness in order to avoid injury Listen to your body and don’t try to overextend yourself, stretching is not supposed to injure your muscles Practice holding your stretches for 10 seconds, holding for loads longer doesn’t offer you much more Breathe through the stretches, practice deep breathing in … Continue reading →

Warm Ups & Cool Downs – What You Need to Know

Warming up is what we do before exercising. Cooling down is what we do afterwards. You need to be sure you understand not only why we warm up and cool down, but right things to do and the things that you definitely don’t. Do: Give yourself at least 5 to 10 minutes to warm up before beginning a work out Practice full range of motion for your joints during warm up Start out slow and easy, remember it is called warming up for a reason Be sure to give yourself 3 to 6 minutes to cool down after a work … Continue reading →

A.M. versus P.M. Stretching

When it comes to stretching – what’s better? Stretching out in the morning or stretching out at night? Truth be told one is not better than the other and both offer you a great deal. Let’s talk about morning stretching first. Morning Stretches Stretching in the morning can help you warm up muscles that have lain prone all night. It can increase blood flow to your extremities. On cold mornings, it can help reduce the stiffness of arthritis and warm you up. It can help you improve your posture and get your body into proper alignment before the day gets … Continue reading →