Although exercise is integral to a healthy lifestyle, it needs to be conducted with caution to ensure injury and long term health conditions do not develop.
According to a report from Arthritis Research UK and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, active Brits could run the risk of osteoarthritis in later life if they do not exercise regularly or warm up adequately beforehand.
Warm up and cool down sessions are vital for preparing your muscles and ligaments for a workout, so taking at least five minutes to raise your heart rate and stretch is paramount.
Despite this, just 50 per cent of adults who exercise have been shown how to warm up and cool down, compared to 91 per cent of children.
In a survey of more than 2,500 UK adults and 1,022 children, 74 per cent of those who do not warm up have never been shown how.
A further 28 per cent of respondents said they simply could not be bothered to warm up their limbs.
Greg Whyte, professor of sport and exercise at Liverpool John Moores University and a former Olympic pentathlete, highlighted the benefits of preparing for exercise.
He said: "It is absolutely crucial to make sure that you optimise your performance and importantly that you keep safe and healthy - in doing so you will reduce the risk of injury.
"A very simple warm up [is recommended] - five to ten minutes of aerobic type activity to increase the temperature of the core, the muscles, the ligaments and tendons, followed by a light stretch into the main bulk of the program itself."
The expert reminded people that being inactive leads to an increased risk of many diseases including obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
