We are often busy and pressed for time, and only have so much time for exercise. There’s a lot of confusion about what to do to get ready for a workout, or what we should do to prevent injuries before training. This video will give you a 5 minute routine to warm up most joints, and prevent most pain and injuries. This is not an exhaustive list of stretches, of course, but this is a solid generalized stretching routine you can do before lifting weights or playing a sport.
1) Spinal flexion and extension
2) Lat upper back stretch
3) Hang from a bar
4) Ball opener
5) Side lateral flexion
6) spinal rotation
7) squat hold
8) leg drop
9) Inside hip (adductor) stretch
10) Outside hip stretch (on a box or on the floor).
Do these before lifting, playing, running, or just when you get up in the morning and you will feel better, have fewer injuries, and you’ll perform better. Add some specific stretches to address areas you need to work on. I personally do a couple more stretches for the neck, elbows, ankles, rotator cuff, and knees. But if you only have 5 minutes this program is great. Do 10 slow reps or hold about 30 seconds on each stretch. 10 stretches for 30 seconds each is 5 minutes.
