Warm-up before training. The best exercises to warm up before a workout

Warming up the muscles before training is a set of exercises that helps prepare for physical exertion and avoid injury. Many novice athletes neglect the warm-up and do not warm up, which is a big mistake.

The role of warming up muscles

How to properly warm up the muscles before training, we will describe in detail in today's material. First, it’s worth understanding why the warm-up is really important and necessary:

Warming up the muscles involves an increase in the temperature of their fibers. In this state, they work more efficiently and relax better. This improves strength, speed and endurance. Still warmed up muscles are more elastic, so the likelihood of getting stretched is lower.
Vasodilation is another factor in favor of warming up before exercise. Blood flow improves, the load on the heart is reduced, and the muscles receive more oxygen.
Normal cooling of the body due to normally occurring thermoregulation (sweating). This eliminates the risk of overheating and muscle injury at the beginning of the training process.
Psychological aspect. By warming up before training, you mentally prepare for intense work, so the session brings more benefits.

How to warm up muscles?

Every athlete, including beginners, should know how to warm up and prepare muscles before training at home or in the gym. Experts advise starting with aerobic exercise, which will increase your heart rate and provide your muscles with the oxygen they need.

At home, you can warm up your muscles by brisk walking or running in place for 5-10 minutes. Then you need to stretch and warm up all the joints and tendons. A set of exercises suitable for home and gym is as follows:

Turns and tilts of the head. Stand up straight, spread your legs shoulder-width apart and begin to perform different movements with your head, stretching your neck.
Warm-up of hands with the development of joints. In the same starting position, begin to rotate your hands and forearms, swing your arms to the sides, up and down.
We go down and perform turns and tilts of the torso. Try to go lower with each workout during the warm-up, improving the stretch.
Rotation of the pelvis, placing the hands on the waist. Perform springy movements, stretching the oblique muscles of the press.
We warm up the knee joints: we become even, putting our feet together and putting our palms on our knees. Begin to perform rotational movements with your knees, as if describing a circle with them.
You can finish warming up your muscles before training by jumping in place with your hands clapping over your head.

How to warm up in the hall?

If you work out in the gym, it is better to warm up your muscles before stretching or twine with cardio loads. Use a treadmill, orbitrek or exercise bike - 10 minutes is enough, starting at a slow pace and gradually accelerating it.

The gyms have jump ropes and expanders, which can also be used to warm up the muscles, moderately increasing the load. Also, before each exercise, it is recommended to prepare muscle fibers by performing several warm-up approaches with light weights.

What is the danger of not warming up?

Many beginners make the same mistake when they come to the gym: they begin to perform the exercise with large weights. For example, they do a bench press immediately with a weight of 60-80 kg with workers of 100 kg. This is simply unacceptable, as the chance of injury is too high:

sprain is the most common situation;
fainting due to a sharp increase in pressure;
joint damage.

Experienced athletes always start their workout with a warm-up to warm up the whole body. Some even sit on the twine and perform other complex exercises to stretch the ligaments and muscle fibers, and for beginners it is enough to limit themselves to the above complex.

The key to a successful, effective and productive training is competently and correctly executed warm-up. It has a direct impact not only on the effectiveness, but also on the safety of training, allowing you to distribute the load. In addition, thanks to the warm-up, the recovery process after exercise is much faster. Training without a warm-up cannot be considered complete.

It is not uncommon for many beginners and some experienced athletes to skip the warm-up, starting with the basic exercises. This is a fundamentally wrong approach. The warm-up performed before training is not just an integral part of sports training, but its most important element. It prepares the body for the upcoming stress. Therefore, the warm-up directly depends on how effective the lesson will be.

To start a good workout is necessary only with warm-up exercises. It is a mistake to consider their implementation a waste of time. Basically, this opinion is based on the belief that during the warm-up there is no build-up of muscle tissue or weight loss. Everything is a little different. If the warm-up is done correctly, it contributes to the accumulation of a large amount of strength required for pumping up muscles, or performing weight loss exercises when a person wants to get rid of extra pounds.

The set of exercises included in the warm-up solves a wide range of problems:

prepares both the muscular and skeletal systems, as well as all the organs involved in the training;
provides aerobic exercise, saturates the muscles with oxygen and blood;
expands the capillaries, increases the pulse, preparing the vessels and the heart muscle for stress;
prevents injury while lifting heavy weights or working on simulators;
provides an additional release of testosterone with adrenaline;
brings the nervous sympathetic system into tone;
accelerates cellular metabolism;
increases the elasticity of muscles and ligaments;
increases joint mobility;
accelerates the transmission of nerve impulses;
allows you to fully concentrate on the upcoming workout.

A quality warm-up before training helps to achieve the goal set for the athlete. If this is strength training, then the right attitude and preparation of the body allow you to do exercises with maximum impact, to lift a lot of weight. For the role of warm-up exercises is also great. They give every movement confidence, make the body even more dexterous, increase flexibility.

It’s not enough just to do warm-up exercises, you also need to choose them correctly. There is no single and universal system that is suitable for a particular training. The athlete must independently find the ideal complex for himself, selecting exercises that most effectively reveal the potential, helping to achieve the set sports goals. It is necessary to take into account not only the sport, but also physiological individual characteristics.

An important role is played by the physique, the degree of joint mobility, the condition of the ligaments, as well as other factors that affect which organs and muscles need more attention. It is required to have a clear idea of the expected result. A warm-up can serve to lightly warm up the body or fill a certain muscle group that will be involved in the training with blood.

Each athlete, of course, decides what the warm-up will be. The main thing is to know both the theoretical and practical base. This, first of all, concerns the idea of various complexes of warm-up exercises.

Warm-up happens:

General. Serves to warm up and prepare the body.
special. It is performed, as a rule, before a certain exercise, has similar features with training movements.
For stretching. Increases muscle extensibility, increases joint mobility.

The most universal, that is, suitable for almost everyone, is considered a general (classical) warm-up. It also includes stretching.

Classic warm-up

It is a set of the following exercises:

aerobic - running, jumping rope;
for warming up the muscles of the trunk, legs, arms;
to increase the degree of mobility and flexibility of the joints.

Important to remember

All dynamic warm-up exercises, including running with jumps, should be performed without muscle tension and any forcing. The pace must be kept average. This does not mean that they should be slow and apathetic. Such a warm-up is called "sluggish".

Along with jumping and running, the general warm-up involves the following:

squats;
slopes;
body rotation;
exercises in the supine position;
knee lift;
walk in place.

The complex is a set of exercises, each of which is aimed at working out a specific muscle group:

Shoulders. Lower your chin, press it to your chest, tilt your head back. Also do neck rotations.
Breast. Put your palm on the wall, lean forward and slightly to the side so that tension is felt, linger a little, then do the same procedure on the other side. It helps to cope with the task and pulling up the hands clenched into the lock behind the back.
Back. Use a pole or pole. Grasp it with one hand, pull back the body, while straightening the legs so that both stretching and tension are felt. Hold a little in the final position, repeat the same steps on the second half of the dorsal muscles.
Stomach. Place the hand bent at the elbow joint on the belt, and stretch the free hand up, lean to the side, while trying to stretch the raised arm as far as possible. Change hands, do the same actions, but in the opposite direction.
Shoulders. Raise your hands to the level of the shoulder girdle. Rotate the upper part of the body until it stops, changing sides one by one.
Legs. Do lunges with your feet back, forward, to the sides. Stepping back, bend the other leg at the knee joint. Lunges to the sides differ only in the direction of movement, forward - in the length of the step, which should be maximum.
Anterior thigh muscles. Raise your leg back, grab it with your hand in the ankle area.

In this complex, exercises are perfectly balanced, which allow for a high-quality warm-up and stretching of all major muscle groups. Its implementation before the training will affect the productivity of classes. They will become more productive and efficient. The total recommended warm-up duration is a quarter of an hour. If you spend more time, there is a chance of causing premature fatigue.

Warm up before running

Warming up is required both during classes held in the gym and when running. Warmed muscles become the main key to the success of a run. Both professionals and amateurs are engaged in running. Therefore, the question of what the correct warm-up should be is quite relevant.

Warming up before a run is best to start with a walk for a distance of 100 to 200 meters, gradually increasing the pace. To increase the speed of blood supply, you need to make swing movements with your hands, bending back, forward, to the left and right sides. It is recommended to complete the warm-up with squats. An alternative would be a two- or three-minute jog.

These fairly simple exercises do not cause any difficulties in execution, quickly become a habit for runners, allow you to increase performance and run time, and protect you from the risk of injury.

Any quality workout is preceded by a set of warm-up exercises. By gradually warming up the muscles, you prepare the body for the load, so that it does not experience tremendous stress. Be sure to warm up, and then exercise will be beneficial.

How to properly warm up before a workout

This exercise helps to gently accelerate blood circulation, expand the amplitude of the joints, and prevent injuries. How to properly warm up before a workout:

Do simple exercises.
Set aside 10-15 minutes to warm up. If you are exercising in a cool room, you can increase the duration of this stage.
Start working out the upper body, gradually lowering down.
The warm-up before training at home should take place at a leisurely pace, but sufficient to warm up the muscles.

The main types of exercises

The warm-up before training the legs, arms, abdomen and back includes extremely simple exercises - various rotations, twists, squats, tilts, push-ups. A good way to warm up quickly and effectively is to run. You need to start with a leisurely walk, then increase the pace, and in the last 7-10 minutes of warming up, switch to running at an average speed. You use the maximum amount of muscle tissue, make the heart work faster, and speed up blood circulation. After such a warm-up before training at home, the body will be ready for a more serious load.

General warm up

Warm-up exercises before training can be grouped into the following groups:

Universal. Relevant before any physical activity. Such complexes are carried out at school physical education lessons, so they are known to everyone. The warm-up begins with turns and tilts of the head, then you need to move on to working out the shoulder girdle, arms, torso, hips, knees, ankles. The final stage of preparation is breathing exercises.
Special. The main difference before the universal program is the maximum warming up of the muscles that will work intensively in training. If this is a power load, tasks from the main complex are performed, but without weights.

At home, you can warm up like this: jump rope, walk at a fast pace with your knees high, go up and down stairs. If you are going to train the press, twist the hoop. Before a long run, it is important to do one set of lunges, squats, push-ups, tilts. Stretch the femoral, calf muscles, be sure to rotate the knee joints and ankles.

Joint warm-up

This type of training helps to activate the joints, tendons and ligaments, improves their mobility, coordination, and works out the periarticular muscles. Often the complex acts as a full-fledged workout, it is so effective. It should be performed at home before strength training, fitness, yoga, cardio. What exercises to warm up the muscles before training are included in this complex? Examples:

Tilt your head back and forth, left and right. Head rotation.
Lateral slopes of the body.
Stretching the arms up and to the sides.
Rotations of the shoulders, forearms, hands, chest.
Twisting the body, rotating the pelvis, turning the legs.
Lifting, bending-extension of the legs at the knees.
Ankle rotations.
Toe raises.

Stretching before workout

Harmonious weight loss and improvement of body shape at home is possible only with the implementation of a comprehensive program. Stretching in this case is not the last place. Often it is recommended to do it after a sports activity, but this type of activity is also good as a warm-up before training at home. In order for the exercises to give results, they should be performed with a certain amplitude. If the muscle tissue is weakly warmed up and stretched, there is a high probability of injury.

Before stretching, you need to perform a small set of warming movements. Everything must be done smoothly, pain should not be allowed. Feelings should be comfortable. After proper stretching, pleasant warmth spreads throughout the body and fatigue is not felt. If you want to sit on the splits, make it the goal of the main workout or cool down. When the muscles become "hot", perform dynamic stretching exercises:

Take as a basis the tasks from the general warm-up. When doing them at home, stay longer at the extreme top point and try to pull the muscle tissue as much as possible.
If necessary, help yourself with your hands, but without effort and jerks.
Sometimes at home it is difficult to give an adequate assessment of your progress and body position, so if possible, look in the mirror. This will allow you to see the main errors.
Effective warm-up exercises for women and men - swings, rotations with legs, arms, springy lunges (can be dangerous for beginners!). Start moving in small amplitude and gradually increase the angle of elevation.

An effective set of exercises for warming up at home

You can achieve excellent results not only in the gym. At home, it is quite possible to put yourself in order, even if you live in a multi-storey building with poor sound insulation and do not have auxiliary equipment. In this case, jumping and running in the apartment are not available, but you can warm up in another way. Remember and perform the following complex:

Walking in place. Starting position: standing, arms pressed to the body, feet at a short distance from each other. Walk in place at an average pace for 3-4 minutes.
Raise the knees to the level of the pelvis. Do 30 reps in 30 seconds.
Squats - 15 times. Remember that the knees should not go beyond the socks, the emphasis should be on the heels. When lowering the body, take your buttocks back, and tilt your back slightly forward, keep your spine straight.
Triceps stretch - 4-5 times on each side. Raise your arm, bend it at the elbow. Bring your forearm back. With the other hand, lightly press on the elbow, stretching the muscle.
Shoulder rotation - 12 times forward, 12 times back.
Stretching the pectoral muscles - 8-10 times. Put your hands behind your back, rest your hands on your lower back. Fingers should point down. Slightly push the pelvis, and push the chest forward.
Stretching the back muscles - 6-8 times. Clasp your hands in the castle, put them in front of you. Round your back and stretch your arms forward.
Stretching the thigh muscles - 5 times with a 5-second delay. Bend your knee and lift your foot up to the level of your buttocks. Hold the toe with your hand and gently stretch the muscle tissue.

Everyone knows that warming up before strength training is a mandatory step, but few people fully perform it. It also requires a warm-up before training at home, which, moreover, no one pays attention to. Now you will see for yourself how important it is to prepare the body for any training load and how to properly warm up.

The importance of warming up before exercise

If you look at the warm-up process from different angles, you can identify several definitions for this concept:

This is the moral preparation for training. After the warm-up and the truth trains easier.
This is warming up the muscles, optimizing the activity of the cardiovascular system and respiratory organs, improving blood circulation before exercise.
This is the training phase. Indeed, this is a preparatory stage in the training process.

Warming up before training is a must.

From rest to active

At rest, the human body functions in an energy-saving mode: it consumes calories to a minimum, the heart beats at a frequency of 55-60 beats per minute, breathing is calm and even. This is especially true for sleep.

When we wake up, calorie consumption rises. Try to wake up and jump up abruptly and run somewhere. It will be very difficult, because the body is still sleeping, and we forced it to work in the usual daily mode.

Therefore, we slowly wake up: someone is lying in bed, someone is drinking coffee, some are doing exercises (by the way, a very useful thing).

The fact is that blood pressure immediately after sleep is quite low - after all, the muscles did not strain all this time, the heart beat calmly and measuredly in the chest.

Pay attention, when we go out into the street, we do not immediately turn on the last gear and the speed of 10 km / h, we do not run to the destination. We start with a slow step, smoothly transitioning to fast or even running. But all this is done gradually. Even if you just walked for 10 seconds, then started to accelerate, this is already considered “not immediately”.

At the level of innate reflexes, our body knows that it is impossible to start doing something right away. It is necessary to prepare the body for a new state. For this, a warm-up exists to prepare the body for hard physical work.

For this you need:

Raise body temperature.
Accelerate the pulse, increase blood circulation.
Stretch muscles by saturating them with nutrients and oxygen due to blood flow, raising their temperature
Warm up the joints, stimulate their lubrication with synovial fluid.

Such preparation of the body becomes especially relevant before hard work. Therefore, warming up before training is a must. Without it, it is difficult to get the muscles to work effectively, and it is very easy to get injured. Now you realize the importance of warming up before training.

What if you don't warm up?

“My friend never warms up, has never been injured.” This can be heard quite often. For example, a person begins a workout with a bench press. He takes an empty bar (weighing about 20 kg) and does a bench press with it for 20 repetitions, speeding up the pace with each repetition. Then he hangs 90 kg, does 5-8 repetitions, then 100 and works with this weight already.

This is a real example, a person has never pulled anything, at the time of such training he was 34 years old. In the same way, he trained at the age of 30.

It is impossible to say that he does not do a warm-up at all. After all, it was an empty vulture. For his body, apparently, such a warm-up is sufficient. But this is the wrong approach to training, because the warm-up is not only about working with empty weights.

There is a general cardio warm-up, for example, due to running, then a warm-up of the whole body, and warming up each muscle and joint separately.

The body of the person indicated in the example has a good margin of safety. But, one day, such a scheme may fail, as a result of which he risks getting a cold tendon tear or other unpleasant injury.

What can happen if you start a workout without warming up first:

If you do not warm up before training, you can pull the ligaments. This is the most common type of injury.
If you do not prepare the cardiovascular system, you can even faint. From a sudden load on the body, pressure can rise sharply.
A good warm-up prepares the joints for overload. If you work on a "cold" joint, there is a serious risk of damaging it. And the restoration of the joint is a very complex and lengthy process.

This is all very important for beginner athletes who have a long way to the perfect body.

So, how to warm up before fitness, how long does it last, what exercises to warm up the muscles before training should be done?

Proper warm-up of three stages

How to do a warm-up, properly warm up the muscles and not get tired even before the start of the main workout? Let's take it in order.

Warm-up types

You can put it in other words and replace "types" with stages. Because first a general warm-up is done, and then, as you train, a warm-up for all muscle groups that will be loaded.

The general warm-up includes a cardio load and a warm-up for the joints. A warm-up for specific muscle groups is work without weights or with light weights before specific exercises.

Let us now clarify how to properly warm up and what set of warm-up exercises can be used.

Cardio - the first stage

Proper warm-up before training begins with cardio.

It is necessary to devote from 5 to 20 minutes to running, an exercise bike, an ellipsoid. You can combine simulators with or other high-intensity cardio exercises.

Fitness warm-up before weight training should be minimally energy-intensive. That is, the intensive cardio part should fit in 5-7 minutes.
But if your goal is to lose weight, you need to run or jump longer - at least 20 minutes.

So, your pulse has risen, blood circulation has become more active, blood has carried oxygen and other necessary substances through the body faster.

Joints - the second stage

To warm up the joints before training, circular movements with different parts of the body help:

Gently turn your head. First make 10 circular movements clockwise, then the same counterclockwise. With each movement, try to increase the diameter of the circumscribed circle.
Pull your chin to your chest, tilt your head as far as possible to the right and left. Repeat this movement several times.
Place your fingers on your shoulder joints and roll your shoulders. Do such rotational movements with your hands in both directions 10 times each. Circular movements are made simultaneously with two arms bent at the elbows.
Now you need to describe the circle several times with one and the second brush, turning the arm at the elbow.
Then we do the same, rotating the hands in the wrists. Squeeze and unclench your fingers several times.
Next, we make circular movements with the upper part of the body, standing on our feet.
We fix the body and make circular movements with the hips, placing our hands on the belt.
Now you can do back and forth 10 times or sit down 10 times at a pace.
Raise the knee so that the thigh is parallel to the floor, point the toe down. With a toe above the floor, you need to draw a circle due to movement in the knee joint.
We put the sock on the floor and make rotational movements with the ankle.

Thus, we sequentially worked out all the joints from top to bottom.

There are other exercises to warm up the joints before training. They are done in exactly the same way, but your task will be to draw the number 8 instead of a circle. Such a warm-up is used in various schools of hand-to-hand combat. The effectiveness of this warm-up scheme lies in the fact that such a trajectory of movement warms up the joint much better than just a circular one.

Indeed, if you analyze this scheme, then in one exercise you perform several simple movements at once. For example, when you outline the number 8 with your head, you move your head forward and backward, and to the right and to the left. There are also circular paths.

How to conduct such a warm-up - in the same way as a regular circular one. This is a very interesting way to prepare the body for training.

Warm-up at home is carried out in the same two ways: around and with the number 8.

A warm-up before training can take place in the form of mobile active games, if we are talking about a children's sports section.

In martial arts schools, a warm-up is carried out for the power and coordination resources of the body. Such preparation allows you to warm up the muscles before training and prepare the body for good coordination.

How to make training safe? Do a basic workout!

Point warm-up of specific muscle groups - the third stage

Warming up before training in the gym implies a quality warm-up of exactly those muscle groups that you are going to work on.

At the beginning of each exercise with weight, you need to do 1-3 warm-up sets.

The first set is always done with light weights. For example, if you are going to do push-ups from the bars, you should first push up from the bench at an angle of 45-60 degrees 15-20 times, then work on the bars.

When bench presses, they first work with an empty neck, warming up the chest, shoulders and triceps. That is, an exercise to warm up the muscles before training is, in fact, what you are going to do anyway, only with a small weight.

If your working weights are large, they need to be approached in several stages. This requires the second and third warm-up approaches. For example, with a working weight in the bench press of 100 kg, after warming up with an empty bar, you need to do 55 kg for 8 times, 80 for 5–6, and only then hang 100 kg.

Remember that it is desirable to observe a step of 20-30 kg for the arms and 30-40 for the legs and deadlift.

The body must be gradually accustomed to the working weight. Be sure to warm up the joints and muscle apparatus, otherwise there is a high risk of injury.

Every guy or girl who has firmly decided to learn how to sit on a twine (longitudinal or transverse - in this case it does not matter), is probably familiar with numerous videos on YouTube, where this exercise is easily and naturally performed by professionals. But is it possible for a beginner to do this? And if so, how long will it take to train?

The answer to the first question is unequivocal - yes, it is possible. As for the second, the correct answer to it will sound like this: it all depends on your attitude to achieve the final result and how hard and intense your workouts will be. And remember - even the prima of the Bolshoi Theater always does a warm-up before stretching. And for beginners, the warm-up before stretching on the twine must include a whole range of exercises. And not just any - but allowing each muscle, ligament and joint to warm up qualitatively and effectively, one way or another participating in the implementation of this position.

Is warming up for twine at home effective, and is it possible to sit on it without going to the gym? Of course - but only subject to compliance with all safety rules, and at the same time having thoroughly studied (for a start, at least theoretically - from articles, videos and photos) the entire step-by-step process of preparing for how to warm up the muscles before stretching for twine.

However, before proceeding to a direct description of how the warm-up is done before stretching, it is necessary to tell ... about psychology. Yes, it is about her - or rather, about how our brain and the nervous system controlled by it work.

The main problem for a person who has never done extreme stretching is that his legs, spine and whole body as a whole are accustomed to certain movement stereotypes from birth. After all, our usual step rarely exceeds 70-75 cm, and the angle of the spreading legs is hardly 60 °. Twine is three times more. And in order to sit on it, the correct "charging" of the brain is no less important than charging for the twine.

The fact is that when the “normal” (from the point of view of the brain) limits of muscle tension are significantly exceeded, he begins to perceive this as a danger and turn on a protective mechanism. In principle, this behavior of the nervous system is natural - after all, it is aimed at preventing torn ligaments. But the muscles at the same time "protest" and tend to return to a comfortable position for them. And we need to “calm” them - and, thus, allow them to slowly stretch to the desired length. How to do it? Of course, to relax internally - having learned to control this process in the way that adepts of meditation teach in Eastern practices. Having learned to do it correctly, we will quickly develop the necessary flexibility in ourselves, after which the warm-up before the twine will turn into not only an easy, but also a pleasant thing.

Gradually, the body adapts to such a load - which means it will begin to perceive it as safe. It will become easier to stretch the ligaments, the sharp tension (as a natural defensive reaction) will go away, the muscle structure will change, and you will be completely ready to achieve the final result.

The level of muscle plasticity

From the point of view of physiology, there are three types of flexibility of the muscular corset.

The first belongs to those lucky few who were awarded with incredible plasticity by nature itself. It is they who show the wonders of plasticity in circuses and at various shows, literally twisting into a ring and calmly absorbing the cake with a spoon clamped in the toes of the leg thrown over the head.
The second type of flexibility is not innate, but acquired. It characterizes people who professionally know how to warm and stretch their muscles to the maximum possible limit for the body - primarily yogis, as well as ballerinas, acrobats, gymnasts, dancers and representatives of some other similar professions. Most of us are of this type.
And only the third type - the so-called "wooden guys" - are practically unable to develop such skills in themselves due to congenital problems with the musculoskeletal system. Although they can achieve some success with regular homework.

Reade set Go!

Having received all the necessary theoretical information, let's move on to practical recommendations on how to warm up before stretching, and how to make this task easier for yourself.

Step #1. A selection of good music. Ideally, it is better to mix it at different tempos - more invigorating for initial, quick exercises, and calmer - when the main exercise is done for stretching. Choose styles according to your taste - from pop to Progressive House, or just take ready-made fitness-collections specially written for stretching.

Step #2. Fully warm up. Here are suitable exercises for warming up the muscles before stretching, such as:

Step #3. The main part of the complex. The movements here are unhurried, but fixed for a long time in postures typical for the warm-up of gymnasts and yoga practitioners (deep tilts of the body to the outstretched leg, twisting, etc.).

Butterfly stretch

This type of stretch is a classic exercise to prepare for the splits. Why "butterfly"? Because the starting position is close to "", but at the same time, the legs bent at the knees and spread to the side begin to fluctuate up and down smoothly, resembling the flapping of butterfly wings.

How long to continue such a “flight”, which relaxes the muscles of the groin as much as possible? Experts recommend a duration of up to a minute at the initial stage of preparation, and at least two minutes (and with as much amplitude as possible) at the stage of full readiness.

At the same time, breathing should be absolutely calm and even, the body should be relaxed, and thoughts should be bright.

The traditional "butterfly" can be complicated by introducing into the exercise lowering the body almost parallel to the floor, as low as possible. At the same time, the groin area relaxes in all directions - which is important for the ability to easily and safely sit in both transverse and longitudinal splits.

It doesn't hurt to remember a few more useful tips.

Morning hours are a great time for regular exercises, but stretching is easier to do in the evening (during the day, standard loads on the muscles warm up and partially stretch them naturally, and the effectiveness of the same movements becomes higher).
It is extremely important to choose sportswear that is comfortable for you and specially designed for such activities. The role is played by both the comfort of the suit and the material used for its tailoring - after all, the intensity of bending, lunging, jumping and running is very high. And for this you stop on leggings or loose-fitting sweatpants - it’s not so important.
Shoes. One, even the most versatile pair, is indispensable here. Since an intensive warm-up is best done in sneakers, and stretching - in ballet shoes, Czech shoes, or even just in socks or barefoot.
Warm bath. sit by at least, 15 minutes in sufficiently hot water (if “these days” or other reasons do not interfere with this) means to guarantee excellent warming up of the muscles. Which will bring us one step closer to the cherished twine.

And some myths

Do not believe the myth that only young people can do splits. Yes, in adulthood it is more difficult to do this - but with regular training and perseverance, the result will definitely come!