Advice on Warming Up in Colder Weather

Now that the weather has turned chilly, a good warm up is important for injury prevention.

Ideally your warm-up should consist of three parts:  

• 2-3 minutes of gently increasing your body’s core temperature, e.g. by running on the spot, doing star jumps or skipping.  
• Followed by 2-3 minutes of general joint rotations – in a relaxed fashion, rotate, bend & extend the major joints (ankles, hips, shoulders, spine) plus any smaller joints your activity uses (eg. wrist & elbow for racquet sports).   
• Finally, ‘dynamic mobility exercises’. These prepare your body for the work-out ahead more effectively than static stretching (leave that until after the work-out, as part of the cool-down).  Mobility exercises better prepare your muscles and joints for the movements involved in sport/exercise, priming you for high energy activity.  

Try the movements described below, and start by keeping them slow, gradually increasing your range of movement and speed. Stay within a comfortable range – there’s no need to push the limits. Perform the movements in a relaxed, smooth & continuous fashion. 

Overhead arm swings – Swing both arms overhead, then forward and down and backwards. 5-7 reps 

Side arm swings – Swing both arms out to your sides and then back across your chest. 5-7 reps 

Upper back – Cross your arms in front of you and gently rotate from side to side, gradually increasing the height of the arms until they are overhead. Work back down. 

Hips – Open up the hips/groin with small side lunges. Stand just over shoulder width apart and shift your weight from side to side continuously, bending your knee directly in front to about 45 degrees.  

Leg swings – Stand on one leg, with either hand on a wall for balance, swing your leg forwards and backward for 10 reps. Repeat on the other leg.   

Leg swings across body – This time swing your leg across, in front of your body then out to the side as far as is comfortable. Swap legs, 10 reps each side.  

Lunge & reach – Stand in a relaxed mid lunge (not too deep), squeeze your glutes and gently move your pelvis forward (feeling a stretch on the front of your thigh). Using the arm on the same side as the rear leg, reach up overhead and gently sidebend away (towards the side of the front leg). You may need a hand on a wall for balance. 7 reps both sides.    

Remember to work in the body’s comfortable range of motion, and hopefully your range and speed will increase over a number of weeks.