Warming up is a critical piece of any workout.
Any performance.
Yet there’s so much misinformation, so much dogma, so much nonsense surrounding the subject.
Over the years I may even have been part of the problem in propagating some of the nonsense.
Thankfully, these days I know better.
So what is a warm up all about?
– Raising the body temperature
– Improving muscle function
– Focussing the mind
– Rehab and Prehab
– Doing the things that are important.
So a 5 minute jog followed by trying to touch your toes just is not good enough.
And while I do advocate the use of foam rollers, they’re not a warm up either, use them after a workout for restoration purposes, not in a warm up.
In fact, if you need a heavy stretch or some targeted foam rolling in order to train, you’ve most likely some issues going on that need attention and you really ought to book in for an assessment.
So back to our warm up.
In our Lunchtime Fitness sessions, efficiency is king. I have the lads and ladies from the local offices coming into me to get in some training and they’re all on the clock as they have to get back to their desks.
So the warm up we use has to be top dollar.
Both working into their common issues, ie preventing them from becoming chair shaped.
And prepping them for the workout ahead.
Of course some of the crew have their individual warm ups based on assessment findings, but most feel that this 10 minute set more than ticks the boxes.
I invite you to try.
All you need is a skipping rope, but even that’s optional, you can sub in jumping jacks instead.
Here’s a video:
And for reference, write this down:
3-5 minutes skipping (pulse raiser)
10 x Overhead Squat 10 x Hip Flexor to Hammie L/R 10 x Lateral Lunge to Dragon Lunge L/R
100 x Skipping
10 x Walkout to Scap Up 10 x Quick Yoga 10 x Handcuffs
100 x Skipping
10 x Side to Side Bridge 10 x Roll Up.
You are now ready to train. So this is where you do your specific warm up drills, ie light sets of the first lift or lower paced sporting activity.
It’s that simple.
Try the set as a warm up.
Set a stop watch for 20 – 40 minutes and repeat the set for time as a deload day / recovery workout.
Pick the movements that tick your individual boxes and practice them every single day to eliminate a specific weak area.
And as always, I’d love to hear your feedback.
Regards
Dave Hedges www.Wg-Fit.com