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Today we’re talking about Warm-ups.
A warm-up for a workout is meant to do just that: warm you up. As we begin to move, we increase body temperature, increase blood flow, increase our oxygen intake through heavier breathing, and prepare our muscles and joints for a great lifting session. Overall, this improves performance and decreases our risk of injury.
But how much, when, and what does a good warm-up look like?
This is where things get a little fuzzy. You might have a very specific series of exercises you like to do to get yourself ready to train. They might be some TRX rows, some kettlebell swings, goblet squats, pushup variations, or even farmer’s walks outside.
But if you really want to know my professional opinion: it doesn’t really matter what the warm-up is.
A good warm-up probably should
1) make you warm
2) look and feel a little like the stuff we’re about to do
3) feel good, look good, and be somewhat enjoyable
#3 is the most critical. Whatever gets you mentally prepared to lift weights and get strong is really all that matters. My own warm-ups are strictly lighter sets of the stuff I plan to do: those empty barbell squats or bench presses is all I need to feel ready.
I’ve even used dancing as a warm-up before, and truthfully it was very effective because it makes you warm and it is super fun!
If you’ve ever been a fan of baseball, you’ll notice that players often have a very unique, very strict warm-up or “ritual” as they prepare to bat. Does the series of taps, swings, hip wiggles, and dances make them perform any better than their teammates or competitors?
No. But it does get them mentally prepared to perform. And that is all that matters.
Whether you have a long, comprehensive warm-up of dynamic stretches, kettlebell swings, turkish get-ups, and farmer’s walks or if you just walk in and start squatting the empty barbell is largely irrelevant. You can pick and choose different things and see how they make you feel both physically and mentally and run with that.
It’s mostly all in your head. The best warm-up is the one you enjoy doing the most and gets you ready. So play around with different tools, rep schemes, and so on and see what fits your body and mind best, and rock that.
And occasionally, I’ll throw some crazy stuff your way to change things up and see how you do 😉
Got questions? Shoot me an email and let’s chat: I’m happy to talk about training, nutrition, warm-ups, you name it. Whatever you need to get your fitness goals on track and working for you!
Andy Van Strength and Conditioning 