Do you take the time to warm-up properly before starting your workouts? Surprisingly, even when I ask friends of mine who exercise often if they warm-up beforehand, they mention that they sometimes forget or that they should do it more often. When I workout with P90X, there is always a warm-up before the actual workout begins. I’m certain if I just skipped it and started exercising, I’d feel lousy and increase my risk of injury.

There are several reasons why warming-up is so essential before you begin exercising:

• Decreased muscle stiffness
• Less risk of injury
• Decreased risk of overstretching muscles
• Warmed muscles increase speed and strength
• Improved muscle elasticity reducing risks of strains
• Improved range of motion
• Mental preparation which gets you focused on your workout

It’s a good idea to warm-up from head to toe. Good warm-up routines you can try include:

• Calisthenics
• Dynamic stretching
• Sports related warm-up (runners jog or do sprints)

I’ve also read that stretching cold muscles could lead to injury. I think whether you stretch before or after exercise is a preference. I rather be warmed up before doing static stretching. When I’m not doing P90X and want to warm-up, I’ll usually do some jumping jacks, squats, and push-ups. What are some warm-up routines that you do?