In 2010, Viktoria Telek was named  Wilhelmina “Hottest Body” and featured in Shape Magazine.   As a finalist the goal was to take my body physically and appearance to the next level!   As a fitness model you want to appear leaner & taller, while maintaining energy and a happy positive attitude.    In order for your muscles to recover quickly, effectively train, and to avoid  injuries it is critical to properly warm up, cool down and perform stretching exercises.  An injury or pulled muscle could have you out of training for weeks.  Recognize the importance of warming up before working out and cooling down after for maximum results and minimal risk of injury.
If I told you that you only had to add an extra five to 10 minutes to each of your workouts to prevent injury and lessen fatigue. Would you do it? Most people would say yes. Then they might be surprised to learn that they already know about those few minutes, which are called a warm-up. If done correctly, a pre-exercise warm-up can have a multitude of beneficial effects on a person’s workout and, consequently, his or her overall health.

What happens in your body?
When you begin to exercise, your cardiorespiratory and neuromuscular systems and metabolic energy pathways are stimulated. Muscles contract and, to meet their increasing demands for oxygen, your heart rate, blood flow, cardiac output and breathing rate increase. Blood moves faster through your arteries and veins and is gradually routed to working muscles.
Your blood temperature rises and oxygen is released more quickly, raising the temperature of the muscles. This allows the muscles to use glucose and fatty acids to burn calories and create energy for the exercise. All of these processes prepare the body for higher-intensity action.

The WARM UP is your chance to focus on the physical, getting your body ready for the workout to come. For this reason, the warm up is an essential part of your workout, not just for your body, but for your mind.
Warming up is important for a number of reasons including:
1. Warms the muscles and increases the body temperature, which leads to efficient calorie burning.
2. It helps increase blood flow to the muscles, allowing them to contract and relax more quickly, produces faster, more forceful muscle contractions.
3. Increases your metabolic rate so oxygen is delivered to the working muscles more quickly.
4. Prevents injuries by improving the elasticity of your muscles.
5. Gives you better muscle control by speeding up your neural message pathways to the muscles.
6. Allows you to comfortably perform longer workouts because all of your energy systems are able to adjust to exercise, preventing the buildup of lactic acid in the blood.
7. Improves joint range of motion, increases the elasticity of the ligaments, tendons and other connective tissues.
8. Psychologically prepares you for higher intensities, and allows the body to preform more strenous activity by increasing your ability to focus on exercise.
9. Increases overall exercise performance.

Where to Begin
Your warm-up should consist of two phases: Progressive aerobic activity that utilizes the muscles that you will be using during your workout and flexibility exercises. Choosing which warm-up activity to use is easy. You just need to slow down what you will be doing during your workout. For example, if you will be running, warm up with a slow jog, or if you will be cycling outdoors, begin in lower gears.  The duration of the warm-up activity will depend on the intensity of your workout as well as your own fitness level. After the aerobic warm-up activity, you should incorporate flexibility and stretching exercises.  Stretching muscles after warming them up with low-intensity aerobic activity will produce a better stretch, since the rise in muscle temperature and circulation increases muscle elasticity, making muscles more pliable.  Be sure to choose flexibility exercises that stretch the primary muscles you will be using during your workout.
1. Warm up for about 5-10 minutes. How long you warm up will often depend on what you’re doing and how much time you need to transition into exercise. For example, if you’re working out on a cold day or doing a very hard workout, you may need 10 or more minutes to warm up. If you’re doing a light workout or you’re already warm from doing other activities, you may need just a few minutes.
2. Stretch. The key to stretching is making sure your muscles are warmed up first, which is why I recommend incorporating some light stretching in your warm up and between your light cardio.  After your workout is when you need to spend the time to really stretch.
3. Take your time. The idea is to warm up gradually. Allowing your heart rate and respiration to increase slowly will make the transition into your workout easier and give your body time to prepare for what’s to come.

There are different ways to warm up and they’re often classified into three categories: passive, general and specific.  Passive warm ups, raise the body’s temperature by doing things like sitting in a hot tub or taking a hot shower and is a good choice for light activities, stretching and yoga.  General warm ups involve increasing the heart rate and body temperature by just moving the body around.  Specific warm ups mean you do similar movements to the exercises you’ll be doing during your workout.

Warm ups for Cardio Workouts. For cardio workouts, it’s best to stick with lighter versions of the exercise you’ll be doing. For example, if you’re running, you might start with a few minutes of light walking, move into a slow jog and then into the workout. If you’re doing an aerobics workout, you might start with low-impact moves (step-touches, grapevines, marching in place, etc.) before you move on to more vigorous activities.

Warm ups for Strength Training. You can either do a general warm up of a a few minutes of light cardio, or a specific warm up where you do warm up sets for each exercise. In that case, you might do one set of the coming exercise with lighter weights before you reach for the heavier weights.

Make the Time
To fully reap the benefits of the time you are spending exercising, you must warm up. Taking those extra few minutes to adjust to increased activity will ensure a better performance from your body and, in turn, will make your workout more efficient, productive and, best of all, enjoyable.

Cool Down
1. Helps the heart rate and respiration slow down gradually
2. Helps avoid dizziness or fainting, which sometimes happens when exercise is stopped suddenly and blood pools in the legs.
3. Allows your muscles time to recover and repair for the next workout.
4. Helps your muscles get rid of waste products such as lactic acid.
5. Helps you end your workout on a good note.

Many people skip the cool down because they run out of time, lose focus or just run out of steam and find they’re ready to move on.  But allowing yourself this time will help your body recover and this recovery will help you be prepared for the next workout.  Take just a few minutes at the end of your workout (particularly your cardio workout) to do the following:
1. Slow down. Just like your warm up, when you get to the end of your workout, slow down and gradually allow your heart rate to lower.
2. Continue moving. Give yourself at least five minutes to move around, especially if you’ve been doing high intensity exercise.
3. Cool off. Keep moving until you’re not sweating anymore and your skin is cool to the touch. Use this time to drink water and rehydrate.
4. Stretch. Once you’ve cooled off, this is an excellent time to stretch the muscles you’ve used during the workout. Stretching can help relax the body and increase flexibility.  Make sure you hold each stretch for 15-30 seconds and avoid bouncing.
5. Fuel up. Eat a light snack at least 30-60 minutes after your workout to help your body replace its energy stores and start repairing the body. Experts generally recommend something with both carbs and protein such as yogurt, a smoothie or a half of a turkey sandwich.  You should also make sure you drink plenty of water after your workout as well.

You can also use this time for yoga exercises, which promote flexibility, balance and stability. By taking your body through flowing poses such as cat-cow, downward facing dog and warrior poses you can both stretch and relax.  End with corpse pose to give your body and mind a few minutes to enjoy how you feel.