This document provides guidance on warming up, stretching, working out, and cooling down. It recommends warming up for 5 minutes with slow walking to increase blood flow and body temperature and reduce injury risk. Light stretching should follow the warm up and deep stretching after the workout. The workout should be moderate intensity, and the cool down involves gradually slowing the pace and deeply stretching all muscles used. Proper warm up, cool down, and stretching improves performance and reduces soreness and injury risk.

1. Warm-Up, Stretch,
& Cool-Down
“Early to bed and early to rise, makes a person healthy, wealthy, and wise”
(Benjamin Franklin)

2.  Prepares your body physically and psychologically
 Increases blood flow to the muscles
and the body temperature
 Reduce the risk of injury
 Achieve optimal performance
Why Warm-Up?

3. How do you Warm-Up?
 The warm-up should last about five minutes
 Slow walking is a good warmup for a
moderate-paced walk
 Brisk walking is a good warmup for more
vigorous activity

5. STRETCHING
• Light stretching should be done after the warm-up
• Deep stretching after the entire workout
• Remember to breathe when you stretch!
• Benefits of stretching, include:
 Improving and maintaining joint range of motion
 Helps reduce risk of injury
 Helps reduce soreness
 Promotes better posture
 Improves circulation
 Relieves stress

6. Warm-Up Stretching
• After the warm-up, stretch the muscles that you will be
using during your workout
• Each stretch should last 10-30 seconds
• Going on a Walk? Concentrate on stretching your…
Quadriceps
hamstrings,
gluteal,
adductors,
Hip flexors,
calves,
and lower back

7. WORKOUT
Remember that your workout
should be at a moderate
intensity:
 The ‘Talk Test’
 Your Target Heart Rate Range
(between 60% and 85% of your
maximal heart rate)
MAXIMAL HEART RATE = 220 - AGE

8. COOL-DOWN
If you abruptly stop an intense
activity, you risk:
 Increasing your chance of
experiencing heart arrhythmias
 Hindering the removal of
cellular waste from your
muscles, increasing the muscle
soreness
 Blood pooling
 Becoming light-headed

9. How do you Cool-Down?
• Slow the intensity of the activity you are
doing
• Gradually slow your pace down to a walk
• End the cool-down by doing some deep stretching
  Focus on the muscles that you were using during your
workout, this will help reduce the incidence of stiffness or
soreness later

10. Cool-Down Stretching
After the entire workout, stretch the whole body
Make sure to focus on the muscles that were used during the
workout
Each stretch should last 20-30 seconds and be repeated

11. Cool-Down Benefits
• Slowly ending your workout gives your body a chance to:
 Relax
 Decrease your heart rate
 Decrease your breathing rate
• Reduces potential for muscle soreness
• Reduces chance of dizziness or fainting