Cardiovascular Fitness Warm Up Stretches for the Gym

Video Transcript

"Now I want to talk about something that's very important that goes hand in hand with cardiovascular training, and that is stretching. Stretching is very, very important both before and after the cardiovascular workout. The first stretch I'd like to show you is a hamstring stretch. The hamstring is the back of the upper leg. There are many different stretches that you can do for your hamstrings. I'm just going to show you one here today. Sitting up straight with your left leg out before you and your right leg bent at a 90 degree angle, bend from the waist and reach with your left hand to the toes in your left leg. When you feel a comfortable stretch in the back of your leg, hold that position for 30 seconds. Once you've held this position for 30 seconds, you switch and stretch out the right leg the same way. While I'm in this position, I'd like to show you a stretch that's also very important for cardiovascular activity both before and after a cardiovascular workout, and that's a groin stretch. Again, there are many different types of groin stretches, and I'm going to show one here today. Sitting flat on the floor, bring the soles of your feet to each other to meet in front of you. With your hands holding on to you ankles, gently push down with your elbows on your knees towards the floor. When you start to feel a slight stretch, you want to hold that position for 30 seconds. Again, with all stretching, it's very, very important that you do not bounce while you're stretching. Get to a comfortable position, hold it there for 30 seconds."