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Warm-Up and Cool-Down Make Exercise Safe and Effective

from the National Women's Health Resource Center's e-newsletter, HealthyWomen Take 10

Squeezing in time for exercise is a challenge for most of us. So it's tempting to take a short-cut and forget about warming up before physical activity, or cooling down afterwards. Yet those two steps are important for making your effort more effective and protecting you from injury such as stress fractures, joint pain and muscle strain.

You only need a few minutes for warm-up and cool-down, but it's time well spent.

Warm-up gets your body ready for activity. It increases your heart rate and breathing, pushes oxygen and glucose to your muscles and raises body temperature-causing muscles to warm, move better and become less sore. Warming up also encourages better fat-burning. Cool-down reduces stress on your cardiovascular system gradually and more safely.

Your warm-up should work the same muscles you'll be using while exercising. You can warm up simply with a slower version of your physical activity. For example, if you'll be brisk walking, warm up with five minutes of walking at a slower pace.

Or try these quick warm-ups (repeat each three to five times) from the Arthritis Foundation:

After warm-up, it's good to stretch a little to build flexibility before exercising more strenuously. If time is short, stretch after your main physical activity but before cool-down, when your muscles are most elastic.

To cool down, simply slow the pace of your activity for about five minutes. If you've been exercising very vigorously, cool down for 10 to 15 minutes. This will help your heart and lung rates return to normal and prevent dizziness. Slow walking is an excellent cool-down method.

References

Sanderlin, BW, Raspa RF. "Common Stress Fractures." American Family Physician, 68(8): 1527-1532, 2003.

Arthritis Foundation.  "Warm Up Right." Accessed 9/16/06.

Mayo Clinic Adjust to Your Workout: Why Warming Up and Cooling Down Help Keep You On the Go." Accessed 9/16/06.

Baptist Memorial Health Care. "Warm-Up and Cool-Down." Accessed 9/17/06.

© 2006 HealthyWomen.  All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from HealthyWomen. 1-877-986-9472 (tollfree). On the Web at: www.HealthyWomen.org.