Warming Up Before Stretching With Joint Rotations
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when working out is failing to warm up before hand. Your muscles and joints need to loosen up and prepare for activity or you risk strain, stiffness and injury. Do more than touch your toes to get your body ready for exercise. Active warm-ups that include light cardio activity, joint rotations and dynamic stretching are best.
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Starting Your Warm-up
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Begin a warm-up with light aerobic activity to raise your body temperature. Do this before starting joint rotations and definitely before stretching. Often, athletes perform a warm-up at too intense a level. Start with mild cardio that raises your heart rate to just about 40 percent of your maximum, recommends "The New York Times." Over the course of five to 10 minutes, bring the heart rate up to about 60 percent. Working too hard during the warm-up phase can make you tire easily during the primary portion of your session. Do the light cardio just before you plan to take on joint rotations and stretching – and then hit your workout. Waiting too long after your warm-up to workout vigorously can leave you feeling stiff.
Importance of Joint Rotation
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The light cardio prepares your body for joint rotations. These moves encourage the flow of synovial fluid, the slippery substance that is found at most joints – the places where two bones meet, for example, your knees and elbows. Synovial fluid, which prevents bone rubbing against bone, creaking and stiffness, helps nourish cartilage -- the connective tissue at the joints.
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Protocol
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Joint rotations should be performed slowly in both clockwise and counter-clockwise directions. Circle the joints until they feel like they are moving smoothly, which is usually after 20 to 60 seconds, depending on your body. A joint rotation routine can start with your hands. Move your fingers and knuckles and then your wrists. Work your way up to your elbows, neck and shoulders and then incorporate rotations for your waist and torso. Rotating your hips, knees and ankles is also important. Even if you plan on performing an activity, that primarily involves the upper or lower half of the body, such as running, warming up the body as a unit encourages not only overall flow of synovial fluid and blood but also an increase in temperature that can help you perform better.
Stretching
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The joint rotations get you ready for dynamic stretches, which include movements such as heel kicks, high knee raises as well as body weight lunges and squats. When you think of stretching, bending forward from your hips and touching your toes for a few seconds may come to mind. This type of stretching, called static stretching, is not the most beneficial before a workout. A study published in the September 2008 issue of the “Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research” found that athletes who did static stretching before a workout performed worse than if they had not done any stretching at all. Dynamic stretches, which increase flexibility through movement, are best before a workout.
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References
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