Bicycling
Bicycling your legs is a playful way to warm up your body without placing any strain on your back. Rotating the large bones and muscles of your legs quickly raises your heart rate and body temperature, strengthens your abdominal muscles and lubricates your hip and knee joints. Rotate your legs evenly and smoothly, as if you were actually riding a bicycle.
- Lie on your back, arms beside your body, anchoring you for stability. Draw your knees towards your chest as you exhale.
- Rotate your legs forward, making full circles as if you were riding a bicycle. Keep breathing as you move. Start with thirty cycles, eventually working your way up to fifty.
- Now reverse the direction, rotating your legs backward, cycling in the same manner as step two. Continue to breathe as you move. The reverse direction may seem awkward, so concentrate on moving as smoothly as you can. Begin with thirty circles, then progress slowly to fifty.
- Observe yourself closely as you bicycle backward. Can you move as smoothly as in the forward rotation? Are you remembering to breathe?
- Hold your knees and rest for a moment.
Sore back? Support it by placing your hands under your low back, palms down, elbows slightly bent out to the sides of your torso.
Posted on January 20th, 2008 by Barbara
Filed under: Warming Up
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