Although often overlooked or skipped for lack of time, warming up and cooling down are extremely important before and after every work out to reduce likelihood of injury while facilitating post workout recovery.
Krista Schultz, MEd, CSCS explains in these two short videos. Please also see below for three example warm up routines.
A proper warm up is necessary at the start of any exercise in order to ensure that your body is prepared to meet the demands of activity. A warm up increases blood flow to the working muscles and lubricates the joints to reduce the risk of injury. The warm up increases heart rate and breathing rate gradually, which places less stress on your heart and respiratory system.
A short cool down after your workout will gradually bring your heart rate back to normal gradually, improve recovery by reducing blood pooling in veins blood, bringing nutrient-rich blood to the working muscles and preventing a sudden drop in blood pressure which can cause feinting.
Here are three sample warm up exercise routines that you can do prior to your biking or running workouts or your race:
