Just like preparing your car for a long trip, the body needs to be prepared for intense physical activity.

Improving performance
Warming up gets muscles ready for exercise, and this progressive process allows better performance by the muscle groups, the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, which will work more harmoniously and free of stress.

When the body begins mild exercise, this causes a redistribution of the body�s blood. What happens is blood in areas that are not being used flows to areas that are undergoing exercise so that muscles there receive more blood rich in oxygen and nutrients. The muscles welcome this. They also like the rise in temperature that occurs throughout the body when the organism gets pumping.

Prevents injuries
After warming up, the body�s motor mechanisms respond better to physical exertion. Therefore the possibility of injury is reduced.

Following the same principle of progression adaptation to physical activity, the warm- up session benefits not only muscles but tendons and ligaments, both of which are injured frequently. These, two, welcome the increased blood flow and rise in body temperature. The opposite happens if you try to exercise a cold muscle. It is hard to do and raises the likelihood of muscle tears. If the muscle tissue is tense, it puts up resistance.

More benefits
The mind also benefits from warming up. It seems proven that it improves things like attention, sensorial perception and concentration. Basically, warming up gives the mind more confidence in itself to carry out the strenous effort that awaits it.

Doing exericse correctly and getting good results inject self-esteem into the mind. This is a far cry from the discouraging results or injuries that come when warming up has not been done.

When and how much to warm up
You should always warm up because it is essential in all sports to that the body adapts to the effort required of it. But different sports require different kinds of warming up.

The same applies to how long you should warm up. This depends on the sport and how intense it is, but in general the idea is to warm up for a period equal to one-fifth the amount of time you will be playing the sport.

In general, the average warm-up should last 10 to 20 minutes. But you need not time yourself. Doing more than one-fifth just means you will be even more protected from potential injuries.

The best way to do it
Effective warm up should include two phases:
Overall warm-up: The goal is activate the body in a general way. In order to do this:
- Do exercise that activates large muscle groups. Trot, use an exercise bike, climb stairs or use a step machine, do mobility exercises such as stretching joints so they adapt better to what you are about to do.
- In this phase it is best to exercise for 8 to 10 minutes and not surpass 50 to 60 percent of the maximum heart rhythm. Start from a state of rest and increase in intensity gradually.

Specific work: The goal is to began the actual exercise progressively. We could call it an appetiser. In order to do this:
- Begin with movements like those you will do during the actual session of exercisem, but at a lower intensity.
- Always focus on those areas that will be subjected to the most physical effort. 
- Before finishing, do some stretching exercises. This are the perfect to complement to warm ups in a bid to avoid injuries. They are also using for avoiding sore muscles afterward.