It was one of those days - sitting for hours at my desk
without a break to even take the dog out. Poor
thing. So when I finished my work that evening, I took that pent up energy
of mine to the stairway of my apartment building. 20 minutes, 8 flights, GO!
About halfway through my stir crazy induced sweat
session, my left calf muscle began to tighten up, and at once I knew I should
have done a warm-up. “Oh well, too late
now!” And I kept climbing. Up 8 flights, down 8 flights, up 8 flights… whew.
Afterwards, as my dinner baked in the oven, I rolled out
my yoga mat to unwind and release the tension in my calves. Stretches, done.
Dinner, done. Damage, done!
The next morning I woke up with a fireball in my left
calf, impairing me from going for a run and exacerbating my irritation from too
much sedentary desk work. Luckily, my dog forgave me from keeping her inside and
graciously let me borrow her tennis ball for a myofascial release. After
watching this video from YouTube and whimpering screaming in pain, I have sworn to never begin another workout without first doing a good ole warm-up session.
Here’s how I’ll warm up:
· Take
a brisk walk and slowly ramp it up into a jog, lasting 5 minutes
· Stretch
out the hamstrings, quads, and calves using gentle forward bends, a standing
quad stretch, and downward facing dog
· Roll
the ankles in circles going both directions
· Forward
and side lunge stretches for hip flexors
If I had included a warm-up before climbing the stairs, I
probably wouldn’t have been sidelined for the following few days and could’ve
been able to work out more! But until I can get back to doing cardio, I think I’ll
practice yoga and use a moist heating pad to release the tightened calf. I should probably take the dog out too…
Have you ever regretted skipping a warm-up?
