Efficient cardio exercise isn’t a simple matter of breaking into a headlong sprint. Taking the time to properly warm up as you begin your cardio workout prepares your body for intense exertion. Warming up reduces your risk of muscle strain and injury, readies your body to deliver oxygen more efficiently and prevents lactic acid buildup, according to the American Council on Exercise. An effective warm-up consists of two phases: Aerobic activity that starts slow, gradually building in intensity, followed by stretching.
Step 1
Identify the muscles that you’re going to use in your workout. For most cardio exercises, you’ll use everything from the hips down. If you’re using an upper body ergometer, also known as an arm bike, you’ll be working your muscles from the hips up.
Step 2
Perform a type of cardio exercise that uses the muscles you identified in Step 1. Start slowly; your goal is to break a light sweat. Performing a gentle version of the same exercise you’ll do for your cardio workout is ideal, but not strictly necessary; you can use a different machine, or do a different exercise, to warm up so long as it focuses on the same muscles.
Step 3
Increase your exercise intensity gradually over the course of five to 10 minutes. There’s no single ideal warm-up intensity, as noted by the American Council on Exercise; a good basic rule is to break a sweat but not leave yourself fatigued or out of breath during the warm-up.
Step 4
Pause to stretch your quads, hamstrings and calves if you’re doing lower-body cardio. If your cardio involves upper-body effort, stretch your traps, lats, chest and arms, too. Hold each stretch for about 30 seconds, as recommended by the Mayo Clinic's website, and pay attention to stretching any particularly tight or injury-prone muscles.
Step 5
Begin your cardio workout at your usual workout intensity.
Tips and Warnings
- Warming up before strength training provides similar benefits.
Member Comments