The 5 Moves That Athletes Swear By

As a fitness editor, I've been lucky enough to train alongside some of the world's best professional athletes and their coaches. I've worked out with Olympic runner Carmelita Jeter, spent time on the football field with Marshall Faulk, and even spent some time doing basketball drills led by the LA Lakers coaching team. Out on the field, these sports differ vastly from one another, but during each training session, the coaches took us through very similar warmups.

Whatever the workout, the trainers and coaches I speak with echo the same idea. A warmup isn't a laid-back scenario. Think of it as a series of exercises that mimic the same type of movements you'll be doing during the actual workout. The key difference is to perform these moves at a much slower pace to allow the body to adequately get itself ready for the motions you're putting it through, which is key in injury prevention. Yes, your heart rate should be up, but not so much that one would accuse you of running at a sprint pace. Before you hit the gym tonight, take yourself through these five moves, and you'll be training like the best of them!