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
