health microchanges

Photo: Courtesy of ACE

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Warm Up Like A Monster
You've heard that stretching before a workout won't improve your performance, but that doesn't mean you should skip your warm-up. Instead of old-fashioned toe touches and standing quad stretches, Matthews recommends dynamic moves that will increase your core body temperature, broaden your range of motion and psych up your muscles. Do a few moves that mimic the activity you're about to engage in (for example, Michael Phelps–style arm swings before swimming). Matthews also likes these all-purpose warm-ups that can be done before any type of workout: Frankenstein strides, bird dogs and snow angels.

Extra time: 5 minutes