Easy Warm Up Exercises

Warming up is one of the most critical aspects of your exercise routine -- and the Mayo Clinic reports that it can be just as important as your actual exercise. Warming up gets your blood flowing, makes you more limber and helps reduce the risk of various exercise-related injuries. Several specific forms of exercise offer easy, no-brainer methods of warming up.

Walk, Skip and Run Progression

Measure out approximately 10 yards -- you may need a ruler if you're unfamiliar with how far this is. Start walking, then progress to skipping and running at about every three-yard interval. This type of warm-up is especially helpful for people who are preparing to run at a high intensity such as soccer or football players.

Walking

Walking at a brisk pace can help warm up your legs. Swing your arms while walking to help warm up your upper torso and raise your heart rate. Aim to walk for three to five minutes before starting your regular exercises.

Swimming Warm Up

Swimming can be an excellent warm up, according to "Men's Fitness" magazine. For the best warm up session, the magazine suggests swimming a distance of 200 yards. Most fitness center pools have distance measurements marked on the sides to help you track your progress.

Medicine Ball Stairs

To warm up while also helping burn calories, "Shape" magazine suggests incorporating a medicine ball into your routine. A medicine ball is a small, weighted ball that generally measures 8 to 12 inches in diameter. Hold the ball between your hands and walk up and down a flight of stairs for five minutes.

Low Intensity Workout of Your Choice

An easy method of warming up is doing whatever exercise you have planned, but at a lower intensity, reports the Mayo Clinic. For example, if you're going to jog, jog slower than your regular pace. Or if you're lifting weights, drop the weight of your dumbbell so that you can easily perform a dozen repetitions.