By: Deejay, Fitness Trainer EnergyOne, Jurong

Warming up helps prepare your body for aerobic activity.

A warmup gradually revs up your cardiovascular system by raising your body temperature and increasing blood flow to your muscles. Warming up may also help reduce muscle soreness and lessen your risk of injury. Besides a good warmup, there are other important steps one should take note of to ensure good health and wellness.

Here are some tips on how to get ready for workouts!

Make sure every body part is involved

Do a 10-minute Body Warmup, simple stretching from Shoulder to Legs. This prevents injury and allows the muscles to get ready for intense exercise. A good warm-up also stretches the muscle fascial tissue, allowing for a fuller range of motion when working out as well as lessening the chances of post-exercise stiffness and strain.

Good form is equally important

Perform the exercise in good form, and in a smooth & controlled manner. Do not bounce or jerk the weights, by doing so there is a higher chance of injury as the motion becomes erratic and unstable (leading to positions that are prone to injury). But good form isn’t just about preventing injury, having good form means keeping steady tension during the workout – which means the work is on the intended muscles (and not some other parts of the body, like a tendon which was unprepared for the strain – OUCH!).

Longer doesn’t mean better

Limit your workout to 30-40 minutes. This is, of course, dependent on the intensity of your exercises and your general fitness. Some may prefer an hour-long workout, but to go that long, you'd have to lower the intensity of the workout. It's better to work out at a higher intensity for a shorter amount of time.

Stay hydrated at all times

Be sure to stay hydrated. The Human body is about 60% water and it is essential to almost every function (yes, that includes weight loss and strength gain too!). When working out, the body quickly uses that water in perspiration and respiration (as well as the maintenance of many other body functions)! Therefore, it is essential to rehydrate adequately. Staying hydrated also allows one to workout at their best!

Eat well, exercise well

Eat food with a decent amount of protein after each workout, this will help to rebuild your Muscles. When working out, especially in resistance training, the muscle fibres are dealt with some damage in the form of micro-tears. It is when the body heals and reinforces these tears that the muscle gets built better than before. However, to repair them the body needs resources. Proteins are large chunks of linked up amino acids that get broken down into components during digestion. These amino acids are then used by the body in repairing all of its tissues (including muscles).