As we transition into the colder time of year, it’s easy to forget the importance of a good warm up.

In the summer, it’s easy to jump right into a movement, whether it’s a strength session in the garage or a quick metcon to get your heart rate up, but in the winter things get cold and the warm up isn’t something you want to miss.

Warming up is essential for increasing blood flow throughout the body and making sure our muscles and joints are primed for the movement we’ll be putting them through.

As the temperature gets colder in your garage, make sure to set aside 15 minutes or so of your workout to simply getting warm, increasing your heart rate and getting your body loose.

The formula we like to follow is simple: get breathing hard, mobilize, then complete workout specific movements. Let’s say it’s a day we are doing heavy squats and “Karen” afterwards. That means we need to get our heart rate up by getting on a bike or rower or even doing burpees to get the blood pumping right away. Then we needed to mobilize with some hip stretches and glute activation, followed by movement specific work, which means we are squatting and working on those specific positions.

Don’t skip the warm up. It’s there to help you feel your best and becomes increasingly important as our bodies get colder and need a little extra time to heat up.