Warm Up with Dynamic Stretches

A dynamic warm-up prepares the mind and body for movement through a series of progressive low-to-moderate-intensity drills specific to the intended activity. Dynamic stretches can mimic the movement patterns in both strength and cardio routines. Since I do my cardio and strength training in the same day, I don't always use dynamic stretching because I warm-up with my cardio prior to my strength training (not everyone shares this perspective). Some individuals choose to separate cardio and strength training either by splitting their workouts by alternating days or doing cardio in the morning and resistance training in the afternoon or evening. If that's the case dynamic stretches are great as a warm-up because they improve your range of motion by increasing blood flow and muscle temperture. On the days I do my moderate cardio work, I follow it with some dynamic stretches prior to my resistance work and then follow that with static stretches as a cool-down. On alternating days, I do interval work for cardio followed by some dynamic stretches, core work, and static stretches for cool-down. The biggest challenge is getting in another stretching session during the day--I keep plugging away!