Warm-up stretches are often skipped by busy people who are anxious to get their workout over with. If you fall into that category, you should know that taking the time to properly warm up and cool down your muscles is an important part of any workout. Doing so helps them maintain elasticity, thereby keeping you from having a pulled or strained ligament.

Before your workout, take about two or three minutes to march in place. This will warm up your body gradually so that your muscles will be ready for stretching. After a minute or so of marching in place, you can begin to pump your arms vigorously to distribute blood flow to all parts of your body. Once you have warmed up with light movements, begin at the head and work toward your toes.

A few rotations of the head, neck, and shoulders are all that’s needed to loosen the muscles there. Next you can try some shoulder and triceps stretches to warm your upper body. Hold each stretch for around 10 to 15 seconds before releasing, and then repeat on the opposite side.

You may want to do both standing and seated hamstring stretches, as this muscle is often very tight and therefore prone to being pulled. Only go as far as you can comfortably because if you happen to feel pain you could be in danger of pulling a muscle. Try to stretch a little deeper each time and in no time at all you will find yourself becoming more flexible and able to hold these stretches for longer periods of time without being uncomfortable.