Warming up and cooling down during sport is as important and opening your eyes before driving.

Take your car for example. How many times do your get in it and drive straight away, without giving it sat least a few seconds to warm up??

The theory is simple: Get blood flowing into all your muscles to make them easier to use and more efficient during sport.

And on the flip side, the theory is also simple when you have finished exercising. Allow your muscles to relax back to a resting state slowly, and allow your body to ease out of its heightened sense.

So how long should you spend warming up your muscles??

The answer is simple; you should only need to take a few minutes, no longer than ten, and no less than three.

There are many simple exercises to allow for your muscles to warm up. The easiest and simplest is jogging. A few minutes is enough to get your muscles ready for action.

But you must remember, the more intense the workout is, the more you will need to warm your muscles up.

Stretching is also a necessity.

It is important to at least limber up the main muscles such as the hamstrings, the glutes and the quads before a work out, and to roll out the back and chest.

Ideally we should stretch out all our muscles but the reality is that we would not have enough time to do al that without the other muscles cooling down.

When it comes to cooling down, a simple brisk walk, or swim or light jog is enough to relax our muscles. A light stretch is also very effective in ensuring you don’t pull up sore the next day. It also helps in flushing out muscle waste products.