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Warming-up before sports or exercise in previous years was jogging for a few minutes and then static stretching (a fancy name for what people consider stretching and holding the muscle for 15 seconds in place). Recent studies have shown that the traditional warm-up is actually detrimental to performance. Dynamic stretching is moving sections of the body to reduce muscle stiffness, i.e., jumping jacks. This type of stretching has also been shown to help prevent injuries. Dynamic stretching is not as effective for improving flexibility. A static stretching routine should still be performed after the activity to help increase flexibility. The purpose of the routine below is to warm-up the body correctly in order to reach optimal performance. Jog for 5 minutes before performing this routine.

Dynamic Flexibility Routine:

1. 15 Jumping Jacks

2. 10 Push ups

3. 10 Squats

4. 10 Trunk twisters

5. 2 complete rotations of the neck both directions (neck clock)

6. 10 bicycle kicks (lying on your back bringing one knee at a time towards the chest)

7. 10 Heel Walks and 10 toe walks

8. 10 Frontal leg swings

9. 10 Lunges with a twist with each leg

10. 10 skips with each leg

11. 10 high knees

12. 10 butt-kicks

13. 10 Jumping Jacks

14. Excel at your activity!

There are so many benefits from exercise besides getting in better shape. There have been studies conducted that show that exercise may help with depression. Physical activity releases chemicals called endorphins. Endorphins trigger a positive feeling that is similar to Morphine without the addictive behaviors. After working out, people claim they have a euphoric feeling. With runners, it is called the runner’s high. Besides the euphoric feeling post exercise, a positive mood and energized outlook on life may also be felt.

Exercise boosts self-esteem, reduces stress, and improves sleep. As stated earlier, there are more benefits than people realize about exercising than just looking good in a bathing suit (even though still important). Exercise is one of the best ways to get out of a funk. You will feel better most of the time after the workout. So why not give it a shot? What do you have to lose? Besides body fat, a miserable mood, and bad self-esteem. Enjoy!

For this explanation, I am going to focus on a bicep curl. The concentric or flexion (shortening of the muscle) of the movement in the bicep curl is lifting the dumbbell up towards the shoulders keeping the elbows tight at your side. Most people think that exercising is just a concentric movement (flexing), but that is not the case at all. The eccentric or extension (lengthening of the muscle) of the movement is lowering the dumbbell away from the shoulders towards the starting point by your side. This movement is just as important as flexing the dumbbell upward, but most people don’t realize the importance and usually just drop the weight.  You want to keep the muscle tension on the bicep for the entire movement, instead of letting gravity take over. Constant tension on the muscle is where you really get the greatest benefit of the exercise. Try and change your workout by curling the weight up quickly but controlled and then eccentrically lowering the weight very slowly (5-7 second count) focusing on keeping the muscle engaged the whole way. Repeat the movement for repetitions. You can do this with any exercise. It will work the muscle different than you may be used to and you will benefit greatly from it. Enjoy!