Warming up is a must!

Remember! Warming up should always start with walking! Once you are lightly warmed up, switch to a faster pace, then to a slow jog, then back to a fast walk, then slow down again, and only once your breathing has steadied and your energy has recovered can you pick up the pace once more. Note — even something as simple as walking requires preparation. You cannot just step outside and start running at a brisk pace straight away. First you must warm up for ten minutes at a fast walking pace. Once the muscles have warmed up, continue walking and perform basic warm-up movements — arm and shoulder swings, slight side bends, half-squats, leg swings — needed to encourage blood flow and warm the muscles. Only then can you run. After this kind of warm-up, training will be easier and more complete. Conversely, once you have walked or run the desired distance, you should finish the session with a thorough stretch of all the muscles you have worked.

Warming up step by step

• 1. When warming up, first work the muscles that regulate breathing and are located closer to the chest. You can raise your arms, perform slow swings to the sides, up and down, then move on to circular motions and shoulder and arm rotations. These exercises are better done while walking, not while standing still. Pause your motion only if a warm-up exercise requires it.
• 2. In the next few minutes, bend to the sides, forward and back. To feel how the muscles stretch and blood flow improves, do this series no fewer than 12–16 times (by the way, on the first movement you may feel resistance and it may seem hard, but with each subsequent bend you will feel the muscles working).
• 3. Warm up your hips and legs. You can perform turns, do light squats, bend down toward your legs, but the legs must be slightly bent!
• 4. Finally, brace yourself with your hands against some surface and finish the warm-up with wide leg swings and large rotations. Now your muscles are well prepared for the run ahead.

Important!

Make sure that all muscles are in equal tone!

Good to know!

The concept of “muscle tone” means that the muscles are in a state of slight excitation. In fact, they are always in tone, and they would not be only if the person were lifeless. There are, however, situations where the muscles need to be controlled. For example, when lying down they are in minimal tone. When walking or standing, the muscles that hold posture — the back and abdominal muscles — tense up, but if their tone is insufficient or the muscles are weak, they cannot bear the load and a hunched back develops. That is why you must always watch how you stand — keep your back straight, draw in your stomach and keep doing it until it becomes a reflex. These muscles need to be trained consciously. Warming up is needed in order to prepare the muscles for a different kind of load.