Winter Warm up Exercise

It’s getting to that time of year where the days are getting colder and we’re having to start layering up to head outside. The colder weather makes it all the more important to warm up the body and get it ready for any exercise or activity your about to partake in.

Doing some warm up exercises is important as it essentially preparing the body for the activity that is about to take place by raising your cardiovascular output which then provides more blood flow to your muscles and joints.

So here are a few tips and principles to follow when getting stuck into a warm up.

·      Firstly you want to be warm. This means you want to be doing some form of activity that actually gets your heart rate up and your muscles working. Just standing there pulling your arm across your body doesn’t count. Exercises like this can include, walking, jogging, body weight squats.

·      Secondly you want the warm up to be functional to the exercise that you’re doing. This means targeting the key body parts and muscle groups you will be using. Using golf as an example you want to be working on your hip and spinal rotation at a minimum, for swimming it would focusing mainly on the shoulders.

·      Lastly once the body is warm and your muscle and joints are feeling good it’s always a good idea to ease into the exercise you’re doing before getting fully stuck in. So before you get onto the first tee, hit some balls, and when you’re out for your next run, start a bit slower for the first couple of minutes.

Have a go with following these steps and see how you feel. If you have any questions or would like some specific exercises then feel free to come into the clinic for a chat or send me an email at sam@thegolfphysio.co.nz.