If you’re tight on time and ready to jump headfirst into a workout, you might start to jip your warm up.

But did you know that warming up is one of the most important parts of your workout? Here’s why:

1. It raises your heart rate and internal body temperature.

When your body temperature rises, this causes more oxygen to flow to your muscles. Therefore, your muscles will be able to contract and relax easier and you’ll perform hard movements that much better. Your heart will also be prepped and ready to go, putting less stress on your heart aka allowing you to breathe better throughout the workout. 

2. A good warm up helps you avoid injury. 

You are way more likely to get injured if you skip your warm up versus if you prep your body for the tasks ahead. Muscle elasticity is a partial cause for injury, and a good warm up helps to increase that elasticity. When you think about it: as you warm up, you might hear cracks and pops in your joints as they loosen up. This is your body working out kinks ahead of the workout, while you aren’t in a weight loaded position and with a risk of hurting yourself.

3. Your mobility and flexibility will increase.

Having designated time to move your body in unique, different ranges of motion is the best way to increase your flexibility and mobility. Most of the time we don’t make time for that outside of workouts, but having scheduled time to get this mobility work in is a win/win. While your body temperature is up, you’ll be able to move more freely and stretching will increase blood flow to your muscles allowing you to perform better in workouts. 

4. Helps you mentally prepare for a workout.

Sometimes when you walk into the gym, your head just isn’t in it. Taking the time to warm up and start shifting your focus away from work, errands you need to run, things you need to get done, and all the other things that occupy space in our minds is important. Warm ups are mostly associated with the physical prep for a workout, but the mental prep is equally as important. Using your warm up to shift your focus to your workout and getting the most out of your time at the gym to focus on yourself and quality movements is important. 

Next time you want to skip your warm up, remember these important factors!