This February has been one of the coldest on record and the constant stream of snow storms has been relentless. I have seen a lot of snow and ice related injuries, from strains to falls over the past several weeks. I'm sure at this point many of us are crossing our fingers in hope that the worse is behind up but just in case we have another small storm I wanted to review the importance of warming up beforehand.
Today we are going to talk about a few easy ways to to stretch and get ready to shovel, go sledding, or build a snow man. These 3 easy steps only take a few minutes to complete and could save you the pain of a pulled muscle or locked joint later that day.
STEP 1: Get the blood flowing
Do 1-2 minutes of jogging in place or going up and down the stairs, making sure to move your arms around as you go. This improves circulation and starts to warm up the muscles.
STEP 2: Start to stretch
Take the next 2-3 minutes and stretch out all of the large muscle groups that you will be using. By stretching your quads, hamstrings, calf muscles, triceps, low back and doing some range of motion stretches with your neck you reduce the likelihood of straining them when you start your activity outside. You can find some easy stretches online or drop me a message if you would like me to go into more detail on how to stretch out these muscles.
STEP 3: Stay hydrated
As always in addition to stretching and warming up your muscles be sure that you are drinking enough water. With the cold temperatures we may not feel thirsty but keeping our bodies hydrated is crucial to healthy muscle function.
If you have any questions feel free to contact me.
Today we are going to talk about a few easy ways to to stretch and get ready to shovel, go sledding, or build a snow man. These 3 easy steps only take a few minutes to complete and could save you the pain of a pulled muscle or locked joint later that day.
STEP 1: Get the blood flowing
Do 1-2 minutes of jogging in place or going up and down the stairs, making sure to move your arms around as you go. This improves circulation and starts to warm up the muscles.
STEP 2: Start to stretch
Take the next 2-3 minutes and stretch out all of the large muscle groups that you will be using. By stretching your quads, hamstrings, calf muscles, triceps, low back and doing some range of motion stretches with your neck you reduce the likelihood of straining them when you start your activity outside. You can find some easy stretches online or drop me a message if you would like me to go into more detail on how to stretch out these muscles.
STEP 3: Stay hydrated
As always in addition to stretching and warming up your muscles be sure that you are drinking enough water. With the cold temperatures we may not feel thirsty but keeping our bodies hydrated is crucial to healthy muscle function.
If you have any questions feel free to contact me.
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