Exercise Warmup

Warm up: 5-minute walk (click here for animation)

To get your muscles warm and loose for strength training, walk for five minutes to ten minutes-outside if weather permits, or inside around the house or on a treadmill if you have one. Walking will help direct needed blood flow to your muscles and prepare your body for exercise. Warm up is important for preventing injury as well as gaining maximal benefit from the exercise, because loose, warm muscles will respond better to the challenge of lifting weights.

If you have another piece of aerobic exercise equipment available to you, such as a bike, rowing machine, or stair stepper, this will serve as an adequate warm up as well.