If you are new to fitness or embarking on an exercise plan to lose weight, you may be trying to figure out how to fit it all in to your busy schedule. One thing that you need to include as you plan your exercise is warming up. This is especially true if you are planning on working out in the mornings.
The benefits of warming up are numerous, but two of the most important have to do with heart rate and loosening muscles. Warming up by walking or slowly jogging for a period of about ten or fifteen minutes is beneficial because it increases the heart rate gradually. If you immediately start working out at a high level, you could tax your heart too much. It is best to get the heart pumping gradually. Warming up is also beneficial because it loosens muscles. If you start exercising with tight muscles, you run the risk of pulling or straining a muscle. Having an injury can keep you from exercising at all, so you want to avoid injuries as much as you possibly can.
One of the other benefits of warming up is the release of endorphins. While you are warming up, the endorphins are released in your body. These endorphins give you energy to continue the work out and can help you to push through to the end of the workout. The great thing out endorphins is that they elevate moods, as well, and those good feelings stay with you for a few hours after working out.