When I first began walking, I saw no need to warm up. Even when I began to walk and jog, I still neglected to do any warm-up exercises. I figured that since I always walked the first lap, that was enough to warm my muscles up and prepare my body to jog. How wrong I was.

Luckily, I sustained no serious injuries, but I did suffer from persistently sore tendons up the back of my left knee. Finally, at the urging of my husband, I began to warm up before I went out. The sore tendons were cured. Always warming-up before I take Precious out to jog should keep me from sustaining further injury.

Not only will warming-up your muscles up before you exercise help to prevent injury, but it will also improve your performance while you exercise, as well as cut down on soreness.

Below, I have listed some suggested exercises and how to do them.

This first exercise is extremely simple to do. Lie on your back. Place your hands on your hips and keep your knees bent at a 45-degree angle. With your abs tightened and your lower back flat on the floor, lift your right leg until your calf is parallel with the floor. Touch your right foot to floor. Repeat this exercise 15 times with each leg.

For the next exercise, you need to stay on your back. Tighten your abs and lift both feet off the floor to a 90-degree angle. Your calves should be parallel with the floor. Keep your left leg still and stretch your right leg forward. Touch your heel to the ground, then return it to a 90-degree angle. Repeat 15 times with each leg. I find this exercise easiest to do if I alternate legs each time.

Now lie on your left side and bend your left knee in front of you at a 90-degree angle. Keep your arm stretched flat above your head and rest your head on it. Raise your right leg up a few inches off the ground, then lower. Repeat 15 times on each side.

For this last exercise, you need to stand up and stretch your legs out to each side. Lean forward and touch your hands to the floor. Lean your body to the right, bending your knee. Straighten back up, with your hands still touching the floor in front of you, and lean your body to the left, bending your knee. Repeat 15 times.

I don’t know which of these exercises relieved the pain in the tendons up the back of my knee. All I know is, I no longer have any discomfort there.