Regular readers, I hope you have accomplished all four goals that we have set so far this year; if so, you're drinking lots of water, you have assessed your readiness for exercise, you are active for at least 30 minutes three days a week and you have started a walking programme.

This week, I'm not setting any goals for you; instead I am going to give you some important advice that you should incorporate into all your workouts.

Let's talk about the importance of a warm-up! You're out walking, maybe even jogging, swimming, doing aerobics, strength training or a combination of these -- you're doing something you enjoy that will help keep you healthy! That's great -- keep it up! But how do you start your workouts? Do you warm up? We all know we should warm up but how many of us actually do? After reading today's column hopefully everyone will! Warming up is crucial to every type of workout, including playing sports.

Whatever the activity you are doing, warming up will enhance both your enjoyment and the results of your exercise.

A good warm-up mimics the activity you will be doing but at a lower intensity that gradually builds up to the workout pace. You should warm-up with slow, rhythmic movement of the larger muscle groups for at least five to ten minutes to prepare the body for what is about to come.

Why do we need to warm up? A good warm-up physiologically and psychologically prepares the body for higher levels of effort. A muscle in its resting state has a certain length; warming up improves the ability to move the muscle through its entire range of motion without injury. There are a number of physiological changes that occur as a result of warming-up: * The body temperature is slowly increased.

* Elasticity of the soft tissues is improved.

* Blood flow and nutrients to the active muscles are increased. * Oxygen delivery to working muscles occurs more easily at higher temperatures.

So warming-up will reduce the risk of injury; it will also reduce the risk of exercise-related heart problems by increasing coronary blood flow.

It just makes sense to warm-up for so many reasons, and it doesn't require a lot of extra effort. All you need to do is start your activity at a slow pace for at least five minutes and gradually increase your pace until you reach the level that will result in a good workout.

So if you are walker, start at a slow pace, preferably on a flat surface, and gradually build up your intensity; if you run, start with walking and gradually build to a light jog and then to your usual pace.

Swimmers, start with some slow, easy laps before picking up the intensity, and the same applies to cyclists -- just start off gently on a fairly flat area.

If you are a weight-lifter, you should start your workout session with at least five minutes of light aerobic exercise, such as walking or cycling to warm up the entire body, and then make sure the first set for each muscle group is performed with a light weight.

Warming up adds minimal time to your workout, and the benefits make the extra little bit of time well worth it! You will be less likely to suffer from an injury, you will have time to get your mind focussed on yourself so that you can enjoy your workout, and your body will perform better during and feel better. So be bodywise -- and warm-up.