It’s important always to begin the Your Best Bust program with an appropriate warm-up. That’s why I’ve designed the exercises in this article to complement your chest workout. The exercises in this article will increase the circulation in your body and send blood and oxygen to your muscles. This will prepare your upper-body muscles for the work they must do. There is a tendency among many women to skip warm up exercises. This is erroneous. It is dangerous to exercise cold muscles because they are more prone to injury in a co ld state. Muscles respond much more efficiently if they are warmed up. Hey, the good part is that means faster results! I’ve divided the Your Best Bust warm-up into two parts: the aerobic warm-up followed by the warm-up stretch and roll. They must be done in that order to properly reach your body’s safest revved-up and ready-to-go status.
Aerobic Warm-Up Let’s start with something aerobic to get the circulation going throughout the entire body. Aerobic means that you are working out with oxygen. Remind yourself not to hold your breath. Breathe! This aerobic portion will increase your body temperature (hence, warm-up). The aerobic warm-up will often leave you on a natural high. Hang on to that feeling. Use it to help you face all your fears and insecurities. Select an activity for your aerobic warm-up. The key is to choose something that you like to do. Just be sure that it’s an activity that will use oxygen to get your heart rate up. Whatever me activity is that you choose you should do it for a minimum of five to ten minutes at the start of the Your Best Bust program. Try to include arm movements since this is an upper-body workout (e.g ., swinging the arms while walking). Be sure that you begin and end the aerobic warm-up activity at a slow pace so as not to jar the heart. Don’t be afraid. It’s important to just move and have fun!
As you progress through the program you may choose to turn your aerobic warm-up into a full cardiovascular workout. This will help you to burn off even more calories and fat. Your muscles will also respond better to all of the resistance (weight) exercises in article 3. To achieve a cardiovascular workout, gradually increase your endurance to thirty minutes or more. You will still need to start and end the activity at a safe slow pace.
Always check your intensity level throughout any aerobic activity. You can easily monitor your intensity level by paying attention to the way you feel during the activity. If on a scale of one to ten, one means that you are feeling relaxed and ten means that you feel exhausted, you should strive to feel that you are at level five. Another safe intensity level indicator is whether or not you can carry on a normal conversation while doing the aerobic activity. You don’t want to be gasping for air.
Aerobic Warm-up Exercises Below is a list of some great aerobic warm-up activities. These are suggestions. Feel free to choose one of these or come up with your own. For variety, it is fun to change the exercises you do.
1. Walk
2. Stationary bike
3. Jump rope
4. Dance
5. Workout step or regular stairs
Walk: Whether you use a treadmill, wander through your house, or scoot out the door, walking is a very safe and effective exercise. In five to ten minutes you can shift from a bad attitude into one that is in happy high gear.
Tip: Stand tall and proud. Shoulders should be rolled back and relaxed down. Push off through your heels. Hold your arms at a 90-degree angle and pump them back and forth. Always face forward, not down.
Stationary Bike: Ride with pride! The stationary bike makes a great aerobic warm-up. It’s even more effective if you have the kind of bike that has upper-body handlebars that go forward and back. Visualize the countryside, the mountainside, or even the beach. Five to ten minutes on the bike and you can escape to wherever your imagination takes you.
Tip: Adjust the seat so that when your legs are in the down position there is a slight bend in the knees. The handlebars should be adjusted so that you are leaning slightly forward but still relaxed. When riding be sure the knees are facing toward the front. It’s easy to make the mistake of letting them slide out to the side. Avoid this frog-like move so as not to injure the knees.
Jump Rope: Who would ever think that something from childhood could still be so much fun and at the same time so good for you? Pull out that jump rope and start feeling like a kid again for at least five to ten minutes. If you need to rest, take a ten-second break after every ten seconds of jumping. Your endurance will eventually improve.
Tip: If you’ve never exercised before or haven’t in a long time, you should feel free to jump without a rope. It’s a little easier but very effective. Just think of how many fancy skips you can do without tripping or stepping on the imaginary rope!
Dance: Turn on the radio, play a CD, or select your favorite music video station and dance like a diva. You rule in this aerobic warm-up workout. Select music that is upbeat and energetic. Move for five to ten minutes.
Tip: Be sure to use large rhythmic movements with your arms and legs. Remember the goal is to increase the circulation throughout your entire body and to increase the temperature of your muscles.
Workout Step or Stairs: The up and down movement of the workout step or even using the stairs in your home is a great way to get the circulation going. Try also to pump your arms while doing this for a minimum of five to ten minutes. The bonus is great buns!
Tip: Maintain good posture. If you lean too far forward during the up and down movement you could throw your back out of neutral alignment.
Warm-up Stretch and Roll:
The Stretch Controversy It is pretty much unanimous among fitness experts that it’s important to do a minimum of five to ten minutes of an aerobic activity before a workout. This will get your blood circulating and lower the risk of injury. It is also agreed that stretching is a necessary component of a good workout regiment. The controversy however, is whether to stretch before or after the workout. Several recent studies have shown that stretching before a workout does not lower the risk of injury. Some professionals say that muscle injury usually has more to do with overuse or improper training.
They feel that muscle pulls and tears are more often a lack of muscle strength than a lack of flexibility. They feel the stretch should be at the end of a session rather than the beginning . Many other experts feel it’s an advantage to stretch the specific muscles you will be using before a workout. For example, they think you should stretch the calves before running or stretch the arm muscles before playing tennis.
The debate will continue and I anxiously await the latest research and findings. With my current knowledge base, I have selected stretches that are appropriate for the warm-up and the cool-down. The stretching time in the cool-down section will be lengthened to increase flexibility. Whether science has proven that a warm-up stretch reduces the risk of injury or not will not make a big difference in this particular program. We are not running a marathon or a power lifting championship. We are developing healthy chest and upper-back muscles.
Because they are large muscle groups, in a self-contained program, it’s not quite as controversial. These stretches are safe. They are easy and effective. They will help to make the exercises in the workout article much more comfortable for you to do. If you are comfortable with the exercises, you will get better strength results. Improved strength will reduce the risk of injury.
A word of caution if you should choose to skip the warm-up stretch, remember to never skip the aerobic warm-up and always do the cool-down in article 4.
Exercises Below is a list of the warm-up stretch and roll exercises that I’ve specifically selected to prepare you for the Your Best Bust workout. These include "static" stretches as well as rolls. Static means that the stretch should be done slowly and in a relaxed fashion. You should hold each stretch for 10 to 30 seconds. The rolls, on the other hand, are a continuous movement. I can’t stress enough how important it is for you to do the warm-up every time before the chest routine. Following are the exercises:
1. Chest, Upper Back, and Shoulder Reach
2. Pectoral (Chest) Stretch
3. Arm Reach
4. Shoulder Rolls
Chest, Upper Back, and Shoulder Reach:
This stretch works the chest, upper back, shoulders, and arms. It consists of three parts. Start: Stand tall with your feet hip width apart. With your tummy in tight, elongate the spine. Tuck your butt under.
Upward Reach: Raise your arms over your head. Interlock your fingers so that your palms are facing up toward the ceiling. Reach for the ceiling until you feel a good stretch. Reach for your dreams. Hold on to them. And hold on to that stretch for ten to thirty seconds.
Backward Reach: Bring your arms down and toward the back. Interlock your fingers and keep your elbows straight. With shoulder blades together push your shoulders back as far as is comfortable to create a good stretch. Hold for ten to thirty seconds.
Option: You can increase the level of difficulty by raising your arms a little higher in back of you. Front Reach: Now take your arms and reach them out in front of you. Stop at shoulder level. Interlock your fingers so that your palms face the front wall and your elbows are straight. Round your shoulders and push forward and stretch. Hold for ten to thirty seconds. It feels so good.
Pectoral (Chest) Stretch: Start: Stand next to a bare wall with your left forearm pressed against it. Your palm should be flat against the wall with fingers facing up. Raise your elbow so that it is even with your shoulder and creates a 90-degree angle.
Stretch: Take a step forward. Your forearm will now be behind you. Feel the stretch in the chest muscles. Hold for ten to thirty seconds. Re lax for a few seconds and repeat on the other side.
Caution: If you’ve never exercised before or haven’t in a long time, do not stretch beyond a comfortable level. The pectoral (chest) muscles have a greater range of motion than other muscles and therefore you want to avoid any injury. Better to be safe as you progress. Be patient!
Arm Reach: This stretch works the shoulders, chest, upper back, and rotator cuff. Start: Stand tall with your feet apart and your back straight. Your palms should be facing inward as you reach up with your right hand over your head and elongate your left arm down at your side.
Stretch: Keep the elbows straight and close to your body. Reach your right arm up to the ceiling and your left arm down to the floor. Do not bend at the waist but keep your body straight as you stretch. Stretch and hold for ten to thirty seconds. Repeat on the other side.
Tip: Imagine a tight rope pulling you straight from above and below.
Option: Doing one arm at a time is a little easier. For more of a challenge, repeat the entire exercise. Put your palms forward for even more difficulty.
Shoulder Rolls: These rolls stretch the chest, shoulders, and back. They are great for posture.
Start: You can sit or stand for these but be sure to maintain good posture. Elongate the spine but do not tense up the neck. Keep it relaxed.
Backward: In a continuous motion take your shoulders and lift them up to your ears, bring them back so that your shoulder blades are together, take them down and then around to the front. Repeat this circular continuous motion ten times.
Forward: In a continuous motion take your shoulders and lift them up to your ears. Now bring them forward with rounded shoulders and then down toward the back. Repeat this circular continuous motion ten times.
