Train for Her Magazine-December 2016

Eek! I am so incredibly grateful and honored to have landed the cover of Train for Her this month for their December issue! Inside I go over one of my dynamic warmups & the importance of warming up before each workout. Please be sure to pick up a copy-it’s on newsstands now! Curious what a dynamic warmup is? I go into more detail in this post, but check out the actual warmup exercises and facts inside this month’s Train for Her magazine!

What Is a Dynamic Warmup?

Dynamic stretching uses the force of a muscle & the body’s momentum to take a joint through it’s full available range of motion.  In other words, you’re moving as you stretch. It is designed to warm up the muscles, increase circulation and get the body ready for your workout ahead.

Most people know that they’re supposed to stretch but not as many people seem to know when or how to go about doing it. Most people still go by the old “stretch and hold for 30 seconds” before their workout, or even worse yet–skip stretching all together. Trust me, I know that it’s not very fun or exciting, especially if you’re just starting out, but warming-up before any workout is extremely important and offers some HUGE benefits guys! So don’t skip out on warming up before or stretching after each workout.

Static vs. Dynamic

In static stretching, you hold a stretch for a given amount of time before releasing and moving on to the next. This is the old “stretch and hold for 30 seconds” that most people use for stretching.  This type of stretching is called static stretching and it’s great! But it’s best used after your workout, not before. Dynamic stretching, on the other hand, is an active form of stretching that uses momentum and movement to gently stretch the muscles and warm up the body. In other words, you are stretching as you move to warm the body up for activity. Dynamic stretches are the ones you want to do before your workout 🙂 

Who’s it for?

Anyone getting ready to engage in exercise! Set aside 5-10 minutes before your workout to get the body ready for peak performance and help reduce the risk of injury. Dynamic stretching provides the perfect total body warm-up!

Why It’s Important? Benefits of Dynamic Stretching:

• Warms up the muscles and gets them ready for peak performance
• Provides a full body warm-up of the tissues & heart
• Increases circulation
• Improves range of motion/flexibility
• Increase the body’s capacity to perform work–Improving performance
• Reduces risk of injury
• Psychologically prepares you for the work ahead

FitTip Before Starting

Be sure to perform all exercises in a controlled manner and don’t sacrifice form for speed. Allow yourself to move through the exercises until you feel a gentle stretch but don’t force it!

Pick up the current Train for Her for the full warmup and how to do each warmup exercise!

Can’t wait to hear what you think!

Xoxo

Ashley