Warm-up & Cool Down Introduction

Exercise helps you to stay healthy.

You should always be safe when you exercise.

Warming up and cooling down are important parts of exercising safely.

A warm-up is when you get your body, blood, and muscles warm before exercising.

• A warm-up gets your body and mind ready for exercise.
• It is easier to get hurt if your muscles are cold.
• A warm-up should be an easy exercise, like jogging.
• You want to get your heart beating faster.
• You should warm up for about 5-10 minutes.

After you are warmed up, you are ready to have fun getting fit.

After you are finished exercising, you need to cool down your body.

A cool-down is an easy activity to help your body slowly return to normal.

• Cooling down helps your heart to pump your blood where it should be.
• You can jog or walk to cool down.
• Stretching is a very important part of a cool-down. You should always stretch after you exercise.
• Stretching your warm muscles will help you to be more flexible.

A cool-down is a lot like a warm-up. You should do easy activities for both.

A warm-up is done before you exercise. It helps gets your body warm. It also makes your heart beat faster.

A cool-down is done after you exercise. It helps your body return to normal. It makes your heart rate slow down.

You should drink lots of water during and after exercise.

When you exercise, your body heats up. This causes you to sweat.

Sweating is your body’s way of cooling itself down.

Sweat is water. So when you sweat, your body is losing water.

It is important to replace that water.

You can do this by taking drink breaks while you exercise and drinking a little more water when you are finished.

Every time you exercise, you should start with a warm-up.

After you exercise, you should always have a cool-down.

Don’t forget to drink water during and after your exercise, too!