Warm muscles are less likely to tear and pull. Before you ride, you need to warm your muscles up by doing some simple exercises. Start your warm-up and stretch routine about 20 minutes BEFORE you ride. Anything that gets your heart rate will do, but here are some suggestions. Do these for about 5 minutes to properly warm your muscles up.

• Run in place
• Jumping Jacks
• Side to Side Jumps
• Jump Squats
• Scissor Runs
• Jump Rope

After you are warmed up, you should do a light stretching routine. When you stretch, hold each position for 10-15 seconds. Here is a list of stretches from BodyBuilding.com to do starting at your neck and working down.

• Neck
• Shoulder Circles
• Shoulder Stretch
• Biceps
• Triceps
• Forearms
• Back
• Groin
• Quads (Front of your legs)
• Hamstrings (Back of your legs)
• Calves

After you’ve done all of this, you will be physically ready to ride. After you are done riding, you should go through the stretching program to cool your muscles down properly. Practice this warm-up and stretch routine everyday so that it becomes a habit when you are competing. You don’t want to have to learn while you are competing.