The proper exercise prequel is not a quick quad stretch. Athletes like basketball pro Skylar Diggins, who does butt kicks and high knees, and jogs in place, know this well. "Dynamic moves are vital to my training — they prep me physically and mentally," says the WNBA guard. She's right. "A bout of low-intensity full-body aerobic movement boosts blood flow and oxygen to working muscles, increasing core temperature," says Tom Holland, an exercise physiologist in Darien, Connecticut. "This allows you to move faster and with more power during a workout, and it decreases injury risk." Elites might dedicate 30 minutes of a two-hour session to a dynamic warm-up. You can prime your body in five minutes for a cardio or strength workout with this total-body move. The walk-out plank push-up with rotation gets blood flowing as it loosens hammies, opens hip flexors, fires shoulder, chest, back, ab and leg muscles and readies your spine to pull, push and rotate with ease.
Try it:
Stand tall, bend forward, walk hands out to plank. Do a push-up, then bring right foot to outside of right hand; extend right arm up as you open torso to right. Return to plank; repeat twist on left. Plank again. Walk hands back to feet and stand for 1 rep. Do 5 reps.
