As a coach, I've witnessed firsthand the transformative power of a well-structured warm-up routine. Whether you're a seasoned athlete or a casual gym-goer, incorporating structured warm-up exercises into your routine can significantly enhance your performance and reduce the risk of injury. In this article you can find an excellent warm-up protocol to use for your next intense training session.
TL;DR (Too Long Didn’t Read)
A good warm-up involves dynamic movements mimicking workout actions, not static stretching. It consists of:
- Self Myofascial Rolling
- Banded Joint Mobilizations
- Controlled articular rotations & Dynamic Movements
- Isolated Activation
- Subsystem Integration
A routine lasting 10-15 minutes, tailored to a specific modality of training and an individual’s needs, optimizes performance and reduces injury risk, skipping warm-ups is not recommended.
What is a good warm-up?
A good warm-up involves engaging in a series of movements that mimic the actions you'll perform during your workout or activity. Unlike static stretching, which involves holding positions for an extended period and can cause decreases in performance due decreased neuromuscular tone.
Benefits of a warm-up:
Enhanced Muscle Activation: Dynamic movements help activate and engage the muscles you'll be using during your workout, improving their responsiveness and efficiency.
Increased Joint Mobility: Dynamic warm-up exercises promote greater flexibility and mobility in your joints, allowing for a wider range of motion during exercise and reducing the risk of strains and sprains.
Improved Blood Circulation: By increasing blood flow to your muscles, a dynamic warm-up delivers essential nutrients and oxygen, priming your body for optimal performance. Improvements in the delivery of oxygen due to the Bohr effect.
Enhanced Neurological Activation: Dynamic movements stimulate your nervous system, enhancing coordination, balance, and proprioception—the body's awareness of its position in space.
Injury Prevention: Perhaps most importantly, a dynamic warm-up helps prevent injuries by preparing your body for the physical demands of exercise and identifying any areas of weakness or imbalance. By ensuring you have established your range of motion and increasing your mobility this will reduce injury risk.
Psychological Preparation: A dynamic warm-up also serves as a mental preparation for the upcoming workout or activity. It allows you to focus your mind on the training session goal, get into the proper mental training “zone”, and Increase motivation and concentration for the upcoming workout.
Chronological Order of Warm-Up for Resistance Training
Foam rolling, also known as self-myofascial release (SMR), is a popular technique used in fitness and rehabilitation settings to improve tissue quality, mobility, and recovery. This technique involves using foam rollers, lacrosse balls, and stick massage rollers. These instruments apply pressure to specific areas of the body, aiming to release tension and adhesions within the fascia and muscles. This is best used for overactive muscles which are hypertonic and overcompensating causing the antagonist muscle of the agonist overactive muscle to be weaker and lengthened. This concept is known as reciprocal inhibition.
Banded self-administered joint mobilization techniques are recommended for joints assessed as abnormally stiff, the intent is to increase joint mobility and regain optimal range of motion. self-administered techniques have the advantage of inclusion in exercise programs/mobility programs as opposed to mobilization and manipulations administered by a professional. In addition to improving mobility and arthrokinematics motion, research has demonstrated that addressing joint stiffness may have an immediate effect on assessed muscle weakness, improving muscle activity, and muscle strength during activity.
Dynamic stretching engages in active movements that lengthen muscles through their complete range of motion actively to stretch muscles through their full range of motion without remaining static. These exercises frequently replicate functional movements, serving to prepare the body for more rigorous training sessions. Implements like dowel rods can be used for assistance, particularly for upper body movements involving the shoulder area.
Activation techniques/exercises are single-joint movements aimed at targeting specific under-active muscles while minimizing the involvement of overactive synergists through precise cues and joint motions. These exercises address muscles that have reduced activity due to postural dysfunction or other issues. They cannot involve multi-joint movements due to factors like relative flexibility, altered reciprocal inhibition, synergistic dominance, and compensation patterns.
Subsystem Integration (optional):
This was made as an optional component due to lack of time people may have, as well doing your movement prep (warming up with an empty bar should be enough).
Subsystems are like specialized teams in your body that help you move. These teams are made up of different muscles which have different concentric, eccentric, and isometric functions. Subsystem integration means making sure these teams work together smoothly. It's about coordination and teamwork among muscles, nerves, and your brain to move efficiently and stay balanced. When these teams communicate well and do their jobs properly, your body moves smoothly, and you feel strong. It's all about optimizing how your muscles work together in a coordinated pattern to do a compound or complex movement.
Example Warm-up:
Self-myofascial rolling
*An observation of an overhead squat assessment can be done to determine what are to be considered the weak and overactive muscles to determine which overactive muscles need to be released during warm-up*
Lower Body:
Foam Roll:
Lateral Gastroc (Calve) 45-60 seconds, Tensor Fascia Latae 45-60 seconds
Upper Body:
Foam Roll/Release:
Lats 45-60 seconds, Levator Scapulae 45-60 seconds, Anterior Deltoid 45-60 seconds
Banded Joint Mobilizations
*Banded joint mobilization use thick elastic bands to gently pull on joints create more space between the joint gaps, then when the tension releases those ligaments pull together tighter offering better joint mobility*
Lower Body:
Lateral Hip Distraction, 20-25 reps per hip
Terminal Knee Extensions, 20 reps
Upper Body:
Anterior Shoulder Distraction 20-25 reps shoulder
Controlled articular rotations and dynamic movements:
Full-Body:
Quadruped hip rock backs 12 reps
Alternating scorpion kicks 7 reps per side
Quadruped hip Circles 7 reps pers side
Dynamic Cat-cow 12 reps
Quadraped Adductor rock back with T-spine Rotation 7 reps per side
Dynamic Windmill stretch 7 reps per side
Walking Split stance Kneeling hip hinge hamstring stretch “bowling balls” 7 per side
High Knees 15 seconds
Butt kicks 15 seconds
Isolated Activation:
Upper Body:
Rotator Cuff (Infraspinatus and Teres Minor):
Banded External rotation + Press Overhead, 25 reps
Lower Trapezius
Dumbbell “Y” Raise 25 reps x 2 sets
LowerBody:
Gluteus Medius:
Seated Abduction with band on knee, 25 reps
Hamstrings (Biceps Femoris, Semimembranosus, Semitendinosus)
Foam roller bridge + ham curls, 20 reps
Subsystem Integration (Optional):
Anterior Oblique Subsystem, Alternating Step-up to Chest Press, 20 reps
Posterior Oblique Subsystem, Squat to row, 20 reps
Intrinsic Stabilization Subsystem, Bird-Dog, 10 reps per side
Frequently Asked Questions:
How long should my warmup be?:
5-15 minutes is a good timeframe to complete a warm-up. Closer to 10-15 minutes if you are performing all elements of the warmups.
How can I customize my warm-up based on the type of workout I'm doing?:
Understanding anatomy and the function of each muscle as well as what planes of movement you will be training in will enable you to program and perform a correct warm-up.
What are some signs that my warm-up routine might not be effective?:
If you feel excessively tired after your warm-up. Warm-ups should not be done to the point of exertion or pain. Warm-ups should not leave you feeling tired or drained after completing a set. Ensure your warm-up is targeted particular to you based off of some type of postural or musculoskeletal assessment.
What is the difference between dynamic warm-ups and static stretching?:
Dynamic warm-ups involve moving your body through various motions like T-spine rotations and hip rock backs to increase blood flow and loosen up joints before exercise. Static warm-ups, on the other hand, involve holding stretches to improve flexibility but are best done after workouts. Incorporating both dynamic for warm-ups and static elements for cool-downs helps optimize your warm-up and cool-down routines for better performance and injury prevention.
Is it okay to skip a warm-up if I'm short on time?:
Unlike most trainers, who will try to make you believe your body is made of glass; you can perform a workout without warming-up. However It is not ideal and it will not give you performance increases and injury prevention qualities, meaning you will be training sub-optimally. I DO NOT CONDONE OR RECOMMEND THIS!