Warm up and cool down exercises. The NY Times discusses what works and what doesn't. What do you do to warm up and warm down before and after exercise? For most of us, anything that gets the blood flowing and warms up the muscles should get us warmed up. Some of the easiest warmups can include jumping jacks, toe raises and even a brisk walk. Jumping up and down is great for getting ready for any sport that requires an impulse into the calf and hip including baseball, football and soccer. Jumping rope is a great exercise for warming up, however it takes practice Some coaches recommend stretching, however most of the research suggests there is not much benefit to stretching muscles, since the fascia, or connective tissue is really what creates the tightness or tension. Cool downs help reduce soreness from the activity you just did and this can be as simple as walking after you run or mild stretching which helps the muscles and any damaged fibers stay looser between now and your next physical exercise activity. There are of course other ideas, and the NY Times recently explored warm up and warm down routines and looked at which ones maybe more or less effective. Check it out here Warm-Ups, Cool-Downs, What Works, What Doesn’t By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS MARCH 8, 2017 But there has been little scientific or anecdotal consensus about the ideal ways to warm up or cool down. So for the first of the new studies, which was published in January in the British Journal of Sports Medicine and is being presented next week at the IOC World Conference on sports-injury prevention in Monaco, scientists from the University of Copenhagen and other institutions decided to systematically examine the effects of some of the world’s best-known warm-up programs, the FIFA 11 and its recent update, the FIFA 11+. Designed by sports scientists affiliated with FIFA, the original FIFA 11 warm-up is light and quick, lasting about 10 minutes and involving various kinds of jumping, shuffling and balancing exercises. The updated FIFA 11+ is more intense, requiring repeated sprints and exercises such as squats, leg lifts and vertical leaps. Read more