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EXERCISE TO STAY FIT: WARMING UP
Whatever shape you're in, you need to warm up. A good warm-up will stretch your muscles, dilate your blood vessels, and step up your heart rate gradually. By increasing the muscles' blood supply and raising their temperature, warming up makes them more flexible and less prone to pulls and strains. Warming up will help prevent injuries and soreness, as well as sudden cardiovascular stress. It will also improve your coordination and enhance your range of motion.
If you're anxious to get going, you may be tempted to skip your warm-up, but remember: Even the most superbly conditioned athletes need to warm up before they exercise - and pay a price if they don't. (One experienced athlete thought she'd try "just this once" playing a fast game of tennis without warming up - and ended up with a torn muscle.)
Your warm-up involves doing your chosen exercise, but at a slower pace; this will give your heart a sufficient supply of blood so it can meet its increased demand for oxygen during the workout to follow. How long should you do this? A minimum of 5 minutes is usually fine, but if you have a heart condition, hypertension, or claudication, take 7 to 10 minutes in warm weather and an additional 5 minutes in cold weather. Everyone should take longer to warm up in cold weather - a minimum of 10 minutes. Regardless of how fit you are, remember: The warm-up is essential. Stress tests have shown that even the best-conditioned athletes may have irregular heartbeats if they skip warming up - as well as put themselves at risk of muscle or tendon injury.
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