Warm Up to a Proper Warmup

Warm Up to a Proper Warm Up

Every day I sit in my office overlooking the gym floor and I the vast majority of people make a mistake the moment they walk through the doors: they do not warm up.  Maybe people do not feel like they need a proper warm up or do not have time.  Both excuses are dead wrong.  A proper warm up is essential for training the body to its optimal level.  When a person has been inactive all day the muscles become stiff from a lack of movement.   Sitting idle does one other thing that is counterproductive to exercise; it reduces blood flow to the muscles.  Muscles that are not working do not need as much blood as those that are active.  As result, with the body having a limited supply of blood, priority is given over to other parts of the body, when it is sitting around doing nothing.  To take physically inactive muscle from doing nothing into a maximal lift or an intense run is an excellent way to ruin a good fitness program.  Inactive muscles are considered to be “cold.”  Cold muscles, at their worst are going become injured during an intense exercise session, or at best, will minimize the effectiveness of the workout.

Traditionally, the people that do consistently employ a warm up perform it two different ways; 1) hop on a piece of cardio for 5-10 minutes at an easy pace or 2) stretch.  Performing a few minutes of light cardio before going for a hard run or bike ride is beneficial.  But how does that help if the plan is to perform a lifting session for the chest and back?  The muscles of the legs do not perform a bench press or pull ups. .  From a practical standpoint, a cardio warm up before a lifting session is almost meaningless.  It is better than no warm up but not by much.  As for stretching, the movement of the body happens as a result of the appropriate muscles shortening in length as they contract.  The purpose of stretching is to lengthen the muscles to relieve tension created by the forceful contractions of movement.  The effectiveness of a weight training session depends upon the ability of the muscle to generate force through contraction.  Lengthening the muscle prior to deliberating shortening it drastically reduces the ability of the muscle to perform. 

A study published in the September 2012 edition of the NSCA’s Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research examined the effects of stretching during a warm up upon training volume and training repetitions.  This study used static stretching; holding a stretch for 20-60 seconds, ballistic stretching; bouncing the muscle in a stretched position, and PNF stretching; lengthening the muscle in a stretch and tensing and relaxing the stretched muscled with isometric contractions.  The results of this study found that all forms of stretching before lifting reduced both the training volume (total number of sets) and repetitions per set that could be completed when compared to a workout performed without any stretching during the warm up.  Reductions in repetitions from static stretching averaged 20.8%, ballistic stretching, 17.8%, and PNF stretching 22.7% while the total training volumes were reduced by 20.4%, 17.9%, and 22.4%, respectively.  The bottom line: lengthening a muscle before training by shortening will reduced the effectiveness of the training by about 20%.

So what then is the proper way to warm up?  It is termed a Dynamic Warm Up.  A dynamic warm up typically consists of a series of body weight exercise intended to increase blood flow to every muscle of the body while at the same time increasing joint mobility that may be temporarily reduced due to extended periods of physical inactivity.  Here is a sample of a dynamic warm up.

This warm-up should take about 10 minutes to complete and create a light sweat.  Warm muscles will perform better and have a more effective lifting session.  This will also reduce the possibility of injury.  Perform the following before every lifting session to enjoy a more effective workout and faster results.  All of the exercises are performed without any weights.  This can be performed before a cardio or lifting session.

This warm up is good for a cardio session or lifting session for the lower body.

·         5 head circles to the right

·         5 head circles to the left

·         10 forward arm circles

·         10  backward arm circles

·         20

·         20squats

·         10 side lunges each leg

·         10 side-to-side leg swings each leg

·         10 front-to-back leg swings each leg

·         20 yard skip x 2

·         20 yard butt kickers x 2

·         20 yard high knees x 2

If you will be doing an upper body lifting session add the following to the warm up using an elastic or rubber exercise band.  These exercises are vital to preparing the rotator cuff muscles for lifting and preventing injury:

·         External Shoulder Rotation 2 sets of 10 reps

·         Front raises 2 sets of 10 reps

·         Shoulder Rows 2 sets of 10 reps

The final part of any solid warm up begins with 1-3 sets of the first exercise at 50% of the weight that will be lifted for the training.  Perform the same number of repetitions as the working sets.  For example, if the plan is to perform 4 sets of bench press at 150lbs for 10 reps per set than complete 1-3 warm up sets with 75lbs for 10 reps.  This process prepares the nervous system to effectively control and coordinate the actions of the muscles during the heavier lifts.