Winter is here. Our bodies are vulnerable to changing temperatures, particularly the bitter cold. Blowing winds dry our faces, hands, and skin. Just as snow and ice harden and crack, so are our muscles and bones at risk. That’s why our bodies urge us to counter winter wrath indoors, using time, energy and resources to stay warm. We stoke our furnaces, light our fires and layer up, all in an effort to keep our bodies comfortable. We huddle close to the heat while we wait for the sun to guide us towards Spring.

I’ve grown wiser over the years. Winter affects me differently than it did: I’m stiffer when I start moving, less nimble in general, and in the cold, my engine takes longer to warm up. I still require a lot of physical performance from my body, but I need to be smarter about how I go about it. I’ve learned to respect that warming up is critical to staying fit.

That sounds awful, doesn’t it? Most of us want to skip the warm-up. “Who has time for it?” as one philosofit client complained. “I barely have enough time to work out at all. Let’s get going!”

But warming up is genuinely the most important part of any session. A good warm-up starts with gentle movement that leads to friction; that friction creates warmth. Rub your hands together vigorously for a solid 30 seconds and you’ll understand that this movement is a hell of a lot more effective than just clapping hands together.

“Begin with the end in mind,” preaches Stephen Covey, author of “The Highly Effective series.” If the end in mind is that we want to feel good, we must make time to warm up. Your warm-up preps the body and mind for what’s yet to come. It helps you recover from physiological sluggishness and increases the mobility of your unyielding flesh.

The philosofit method focuses on warm-up as part of Recovery and Mobility, the first two fields of our Six Fields of Fit philosophy. One of the great pleasures of having a professional trainer is they tell you exactly what you need to do, and coach you as you do it.

So if your struggle to get yourself active is real, let me guide you through a free 20-minute led Stability Stretch session (just press play on the video below). It’s the perfect indoor winter warm-up practice.

Warmly,

- Ari

Warm Up!