Warming up before your workouts is crucial to perform at your best, stay injury-free, and build your body up rather than tearing it down.
As we age, our bodies and joints need more attention, especially if we're putting in work in the gym regularly.
That's why incorporating proper warm-ups is essential to train with purpose and intention.
In this blog post, we will walk you through a 6-minute follow-along leg day warm-up that you can do before any leg workout.
Warm-Up Exercises:
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Walk Out to Spider Lunges (50 seconds)
- Start standing, walk out to a high plank, bring one foot up to the outside of the hand, repeat with the other foot, and walk back up to standing.
- This exercise focuses on opening up the hips, firing up the core, and stretching the hamstrings and lower back.
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Front Lunge to Reach (50 seconds)
- Step forward into a lunge, pause, reach up and over to stretch the hip flexor, and switch legs.
- This exercise targets the quadriceps and the deep hip flexor muscle, the psoas.
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Alternating Pigeon (50 seconds)
- Bring one leg across the body, ideally perpendicular, drop the chest, and switch sides.
- Focus on feeling the glute stretch and opening up as you drop your chest.
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Pike Fold Squat Hold (50 seconds)
- With a wide squat stance, reach down to the floor, and pull your chest up into the bottom of a squat.
- Drive your knees outward and focus on opening up the hips, abductors, and groin.
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Lunge Complex (50 seconds)
- Perform a front lunge, side lunge, and back lunge, then switch sides.
- Keep the chest tall and the side lunge leg straight to stretch the abductors.
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Squat with a 2-Second Hold (50 seconds)
- Squat down, hold for two seconds, and drive up, squeezing the glutes at the top.
- Focus on maintaining tension in the quads and driving the knees out during the squat.
Conclusion
Now that you have a quick and effective 6-minute leg day warm-up, you can perform it before any leg workout to reduce the risk of injury and ensure that your body is prepped and primed for an optimal workout. Remember to always listen to your body and modify the exercises as needed.
