What Is This Warm Up Block?
Throughout this blog I’ve mentioned a variety of exercises that I enjoy doing both on their own and as part of a warm up. Well, enjoy is kind of a strong word. Let’s just say the warm up is something that I do.
The warm up block is a patented (not really) group of exercises that I do for short increments of time, one after another.
I do each exercise for thirty seconds and then move immediately on to the next with no rest in between.
I call it a warm up but if you don’t have much time it’s also a great full body workout you can finish in minutes.
What Magic Is Used To Keep Track Of Time?
It’s easy to do with a timer I downloaded onto my phone. I’m sure some of you are familiar with them. It was new to me because I used to only use phones to phone people. There are a variety of timer apps you can download onto your phone for free.
A quick search for timer apps will show you a bunch of them. Pick one you like. Alternatively, you may already have a timer you like using. Of course you can always try counting to thirty while you are doing each exercise but I wouldn’t recommend it.
The warm up gets my heart rate going and delivers a good sweat. Warming up increases blood flow to the muscles, making them more pliable. It makes you less prone to injury. That’s what the pros say. It’s a great tool towards achieving physical fitness. It’s also a good exercise habit to work in a warm up routine.
I find it also gets me in a more positive frame of mind about the exercise I’m doing that day. Historically I have a tendency to be lazy. Once I’m into the warm up routine, I feel more motivated to follow through.
The warm up also helps me excel through the exercises I’m doing later in my routine. To go into any exercise without it I find way more difficult. If it’s more difficult, I’m more likely to walk away from it.
So Is This A Special Kind Of Warm Up?
Doing the warm up block as described, one exercise after the other in short bursts, comes from the concept I learned about called High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT.
The rationale behind HIIT is based on the common principle that you burn fat by burning calories. But the more intense you make your workout, the more fat you burn.
So the objective behind HIIT is to exercise with high intensity (that’s the HI part, see I’m learning) for shorter bursts of time. You should shoot for your maximum exertion during each exercise interval.
Now what I do in my warm up is motivated by HIIT principles but some would say it is not quite HIIT by itself. A genuine HIIT routine would also incorporate a rest period. Usually for twice the amount of a particular exercise interval or for an equal amount of time.
Wait. What Is This HIIT Thing?
So say you’re just starting out and you go all out with a HIIT routine for sixty seconds, then take a break for two minutes. Then do it again. If you feel strong, only break for as long as you exercised. Just be sure to take the rest. Then return to the routine at maximum exertion. That’s HIIT.
If you’re interested, here is a great post I found from Self.com discussing HIIT and showing some great exercise routines for it.
What I do is more of a warm up although if you’re just starting out, you might like it as a workout on its own.
So What Is This Block I’ve Heard So Much About?
So here is my block of warm up exercises. Each one is done for thirty seconds, one right after the other…
Skipping, Push Ups, Mountain Climbers, Double-squats, Burpees, High Knees, Plank(knee to elbow variation), Skipping, Wide Push Ups, Mountain Climbers, Skipping. By the way, a number of these moves strengthen your calves. (Don’t forget about those calves.) I also periodically, include other variations of the plank.
This is a six minute block. For me, this really gets my heart rate going and gets me warmed up. Often I will substitute one of the rounds of skipping with knee tuck jumps or lunges.
Sometimes I’ll just add in both knee tuck jumps and lunges making it a seven minute block. Alternatively, when I’m feeling good, I’ll stretch the skipping out to sixty second intervals.
Great Start To A Physical Fitness Routine Or Good On Its Own
As you probably noticed, you can turn this into a good HIIT workout as well. For example, you could do three of the exercises I listed going all out, rest for 90 seconds, then repeat.
The choice is yours. You can use it as a warm up or as a full HIIT workout. If you do use it for HIIT, don’t do it every day. The stuff I’ve read says you should do HIIT no more than three times a week. Take other days for more moderate cardio. This allows you to maximize your HIIT days.
This exercise will help you boost your metabolism, your endurance and of course burn calories.
If you use it as a warm up, even if you just do a few of the exercises I listed as part of a smaller warm up block, I bet you’ll find the rest of your workout more enjoyable.
Right. Enjoyable may be a bad word. Perhaps you’ll find the rest of your workout more tolerable? Maybe it’ll motivate you to get through it without much dread. That sounds about right. You’ll be nicely warmed up and feel like its the best time to exercise.
So give it a shot and let me know how you like it. Remember, regular exercise and less butter tarts. And who doesn’t like butter tarts? OK some people really don’t like butter tarts but you know what I mean.
