Warm-up for outdoor winter activities

Snow, ice and frigid weather are coming to Saratoga!  Winter activities like skating, skiing and sledding with the kids can cause painful muscle spasms, strains or tears.  Shoveling snow without the proper warm-up can put you out of commission for days.

The ideal warm-up starts with some light  aerobic activity like walking in place for 3 to 5 minutes.  Then follow these tips to help you fight back the winter weather:

1. Skiing: Do 10 to 15 squats.  Stand with your legs shoulder width apart, slowly squat down until your knees are at a 90 degree angle.  Hold 5 seconds, then slowly stand up straight.
2. Skating: Perform 10 lunges.  Take a medium step forward, slowly lower your back knee down to the floor, hold 5 seconds, slowly raise upright.  Repeat the process on your other side.
3. Sledding: Do knee-to-chest stretches for 30 seconds to fight compression injuries caused by repetitive bouncing over bumps.
4. Shoveling: Do all three!  Because shoveling heavy snow can tax multiple major muscle groups, perform all three of the above warm-ups.

                   Hope this helps!     Dr Smith - Chiropractor