Benefits of warm-up exercises. Before diving into how to warm up before exercise, know 5 reasons why you should follow a warm-up routine: 1. Increases flexibility and range of motion.

Warm up with four laps around the track (1 mile). This can be a brisk walk, a slow, easy jog, or a mix of the two. You want to finish this step feeling warmed up and ready to work—not exhausted.

Formal warm-up routines like we see currently, however, didn’t become a prominent feature in athletics until the 20 th century. Fast forward to today, and it’s safe to assume that most people ...