"The groundwork of all happiness is health." - Leigh Hunt

Exercise 101: Don't skip the warm-up or cool-down.

You may be wanting to jump into your exercise routine and get on with the day—but don't just dive right in. Starting a workout with “cold” muscles can result in injury. It's essential to begin every workout with a warm-up and end with a cool-down—and that goes for true beginners, seasoned pros, and everybody in between.

Warm up

Warming up pumps nutrient-rich, oxygenated blood to your muscles because it accelerates your heart rate and respiration. warm-up should last five to 10 minutes and work all major muscle groups. For best results, start slowly, then increase the speed. Many warm-up routines give attention to cardio and range-of-motion exercises, reminiscent of jumping jacks and lunges. If you want, you possibly can do a straightforward warm-up by gently swinging your arms, and even walking in place while dancing to a couple of songs.

to chill down

After your workout, it's best to spend five to 10 minutes cooling down through a sequence of slow movements. It helps prevent muscle cramps and dizziness by slowly slowing your respiration and heart rate. An effective cool down also includes stretching exercises to calm down and lengthen muscles throughout your body and improve your range of motion. To get essentially the most out of those exercises, hold each stretch for 10 to 30 seconds. The longer you possibly can hold the stretch, the higher for improving your flexibility. As with the warm-up, it's best to flow from one stretch to the following without resting in between.

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