Workout Wednesday: How to Warm Up Before a Ride June 10 2015
Why bother?
Well that's usually the question when it comes to warming up, isn't it? If you're like me, you skip the warm up part of your workout way too often.
But here's the thing. If you don't have time to warm up, you don't have time to work out.
Of course we all know that warming up is important, especially when it comes to preventing injury by preparing your muscles, ligaments and joints for a ride or a workout. But if you're a serious rider, the other major benefit to warming up is that it gets your cardiovascular system going so that you don't feel like a dopey slug for the first 10-15 minutes of your ride.
What's more, a warm up doesn't have to be as intense as the yoga/parkour shown above (awesome though it is). Here are two great dynamic warm ups to get you started.
How do I do it?
Let's start with an easy, beginner level dynamic warm up. This one just uses 10 simple exercises (with no equipment), for 30 seconds each:
Not too difficult right? And luckily, that's the kind of warm up you could get away with at the barn without looking like too much of a dope. If you want to try a more challenging warm up though, one that will really get your muscles pumping, try this great dynamic warm up from Nerd Fitness:
When should I do it?
Make sure you warm up before any intense exercise, including a hard ride, a run, and any strength training exercises.
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