After a solid month of stuffing ourselves full of cookies, candy and comfort food, your New Year’s resolution probably has something to do with feeling healthy. For us, it means breaking the news to our muscles that it’s time to start exercising again. And between ever-dropping temperatures and taking time off over the holidays, it’s more important than ever to warm up before working out.
Sit and extend your left leg. Move your right foot toward your inner thigh, so it touches the top part of your left leg. Bend forward at the waist and reach for your toes. Hold for 10 seconds, then switch legs. Repeat the cycle twice more, holding first for 20 seconds, then 30.
Stand with your feet together. Step your right foot forward about two feet and bend forward from your hip joints (without completely rounding your back). To take some of the pressure off cold muscles, bend your left leg inward and pop the heel. Hold for 30 seconds and switch sides.
Step your right foot forward and lower into a lunge with fingertips on the floor. If your hands don’t quite reach, place a pillow on each side. Breathe in, then in one motion, exhale as you straighten your right leg. Slowly return to the lunge position. Repeat four times and switch legs.
