When a person is going to workout hard or relatively hard, any more than just a walk, a proper warm up is very important. Stretching and warming up equals the same thing to many people but they are two very different things with different purposes. When a person is warming up for his or her workout that is literally what you want to start the body doing, warming up. With a blood flow increase your body temperature actually does increase slightly as you start to warm up. More oxygen and nutrients will get to your muscles, ligaments and tendons as the blood flow increases. As the blood flow increases the muscles, tendons and ligaments all gain flexibility. As an example, recall a time you were sitting in the same position for a while and then you stood up and moved stiffly. Yet after walking a bit your movements start to become more fluid. It is the same principle when you are warming up for your work out. You feel better as you warm up and your metabolism increases. Metabolism is simply increasing the energy flowing in the body. This prepares your body for more vigorous exercise and it also prevents injury. Warming up before your workout is usually thought of, incorrectly, as stretching. Most people do static stretching. This is where you stretch to the point of slight discomfort and then hold for 20-30 seconds. Ballistic stretching is where you stretch the muscle and bounce repetitively. The ballistic method is actually harmful and can cause injury rather than prevent it. Avoid it. Neither one of these stretching methods increases the blood flow, and they do nothing to help you warm up for an effective workout. The proper type of warm up is a lesser gradient of what you are going to do in your workout. For example, if you were going to be doing wind sprints you would want to jog for a short while. If you were going to jog you would want to walk for a short while first, etc. The lesser gradient activity increases the blood flow to the muscles, ligament and tendons, thereby, setting you up to do your workout more effectively and get more out of it. That is how you burn belly fat and gain strength. Static stretching is valuable but not as a warm up, instead it should be done after your workout. After you finish working out, static stretching is great. Once your muscles are already warm, static stretching can challenge them in a new way. Regular stretching will improve your flexibility over time. That added flexibility will serve you well in your workouts and in your everyday life. The moral of the story is this: To improve flexibility, stretch after exercising. To prevent injuries, warm up before exercising. Follow this recipe and your workouts will be more effective and fun, and you are far more likely to achieve your desired result.
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