How to Warm Up Before Exercise at Home: 4 Different Warm Up Routines

You may be wondering how to warm up before exercise at home if you’re trying to build your fitness.

Working out can be a challenge, and your warm up routine is what will set the tone for the rest of the workout.

Not only does it help get your body ready to start exercising, but it also puts you in the right headspace.

We’ve compiled a list of different warm up routines to help teach you how to warm up before exercise at home so that you can focus on your progress and not just planning.

How to Warm Up Before Exercise at Home

Are you ready to start learning how to warm up before exercise at home? The warm up that you do will depend on the intensity of your upcoming workout, and the areas that you are targeting.

So, we’ve gathered a selection of warm up exercises to suit any routine.

Why is warming up important?

Before we get into how to warm up before exercise at home, you may find it valuable to learn why you should be warming up before engaging in your full workout.

Essentially, the warm up allows your body to prepare for the movements it’s going to make. Your heart rate will also gradually increase, as will your circulation. Joints are loosened, and blood flow is directed to where it needs to be.

If you choose to ignore the warm up, your body will be more prone to injuries like muscle tears. You’ll also experience more general pain while exercising if you skip the warm up.

Still not convinced? Here’s a quick rundown of all of the benefits that you get from warming up before your exercise.

• Reduced risk of injury
• Less pain during the workout
• You’ll perform better
• Your blood flow and oxygen will be increased
• You’ll be more flexible

Warming up before a run

It’s crucial that you warm up before a run. Your body should not go from being relaxed and standing to running at full speed with no preparation.

That will increase the likelihood of injury and limit your capacity for running. The goal for warming up before a run is to loosen up your joints, muscles and bones.

Your pre-run warm up should begin with walking. Your speed will depend on how far you plan on running, and how quickly. It will typically fall somewhere between a gentle to a brisk pace.

Walk at this pace for 5 to 10 minutes. The longer you plan on running, the longer your pre-run walk should be.

Following your walk, you will do some dynamic stretches. This is when your body performs stretching motions that are actively moving, as opposed to holding positions like you would during static stretches.

Things like arm circles and leg swings are perfect for this kind of stretching.

Warming up before yoga

Yoga tends to be a low-impact exercise, which can trick people into thinking that they don’t need to warm up.

Regardless of how low the intensity of your routine is, or how long you do yoga for, you’ll still need to warm up! Complete the following moves before beginning a yoga routine.

1. Pelvic tilts. Doing pelvic tilts allows you to warm up your spine, helping you move freely during the rest of your routine. To do this warm up, you’ll lay on the floor with your knees upright, feet planted on the ground. Raise your pelvis slightly towards your face before releasing it. Do this for 30 seconds.
2. Leg stretches. Lay flat on the floor and take turns lifting each leg up. If you’re flexible enough for your leg to stay completely straight, lift it so that the sole of your foot is facing the ceiling. Spend 30 seconds lifting each leg. You can also choose to lift both legs at the same time.
3. Dolphin plank pose. To stretch out your arms and your core, enter into the dolphin plank pose. This pose is similar to the basic plank, but you’ll rest on your forearms. Stay in this pose for 30 seconds.
4. Downward facing dog. This pose is very common in yoga, and for good reason. This stretches your legs, spine, and arms. Hold the pose for about 30 seconds before completing your yoga warm up.

Warming up before lifting weights

Lifting weights can put a lot of strain your body, making you more prone to injury. So, it’s very important to get a well-rounded warm up routine before you even touch any weights.

Follow the below routine before your next weight lifting workout.

• Begin with 5 minutes of light cardiovascular exercising. This may include jogging on a treadmill, using an exercise bike, rowing, or any other preferred form of cardio.
• Spend 5 minutes doing dynamic stretches. Ensure that you are not holding any pose for longer than 30 seconds. Common stretches for this portion include hip flexors and the t-spine pose.
• Complete 5 minutes of activation exercises. This is when you engage the muscles that you’ll be using during your weight lifting session. Your specific exercise will depend on what you’ll be doing that day, whether it’s leg day, arm day, shoulder day, or otherwise. Ensure that these activation exercises are not using any weights that are as heavy as you’ll be using during your workout.

Full body warm up (for higher intensity workouts)

Are you getting ready to do a high-intensity workout? For something like that, you’ll want to make sure that you are warming up every inch of your body to prepare yourself. You’ll go through all your body parts during this 10-minute warmup.

Here are the steps for this full body warm up. You should be moving through these exercises quickly, with no breaks longer than 30 seconds.

1. Jog in place for 60 seconds. You can use a treadmill if you have one and feel more comfortable with it.
2. Jump rope for 60 seconds. If you don’t have a jump rope, you can jump in place, though you’ll need to ensure that your jumps are high enough.
3. Do jumping jacks for 60 seconds. Make sure that you’re spreading your legs and raising your hands all the way to the top of your head.
4. Backpedal for 60 seconds. This is when you run backward using short steps while pumping your arms at the same time.
5. Do lunges for 60 seconds while moving forward across the room. You can do them in place if you do not have enough space, though make sure that you keep moving for the entire 60 seconds.
6. Do leg swings for 60 seconds, with 30 seconds on each leg. Plant your feet firmly on the ground, and raise one leg up, doing a swift kicking motion. Allow it to fully swing back behind your body and repeat.
7. Do squats for 60 seconds.
8. Do as many burpees as you can in 60 seconds.
9. Do arm circles for 60 seconds. Change directions of both arms after 30 seconds. Ensure that you are circling as wide as possible.
10. Stretch for your final 60 seconds.

This warm up should get all of your muscles warmed up, making sure that you’re ready to go for your upcoming workout.

Everybody should learn how to warm up before exercise at home.

If you’re already planning on exercising, adding 5 to 10 minutes of warm ups should be a piece of cake!

The importance of warming up cannot be stressed enough, as it promotes the prevention of injury, along with a variety of other benefits.

So, remember your routine before you jump into your next workout.

You should also ensure that your giving your body the proper time to cool down following your workout to perform the optimal exercise routine!