Warm-up

A warm up is a routine of stretches, movements and poses to prepare the body for exercise. It is important to warm the body up efficiently before exercise to prevent injury of muscles and ligaments. Effective warm-up exercises include gentle marching, rolling the shoulders and circulating the wrists, hips and ankles. Depending on the intensity of the exercise, a warm-up can differ in length – often footballers will warm-up gradually for up to an hour before a match. It is equally important in more demanding activities to warm-up the brain too, by challenging it with exercises that require concentration, such as weaving in between cones.