Do you ever jump right into your workout without preparing your body with a warm-up first? While this may be the convenient choice in the moment, there is a good chance your body mechanics and workout efficiency are suffering.
Preparing your body to move with a warm-up specific to the workout you’re about to perform not only primes your muscles, ligaments and tendons to prevent injury, but also enhances your performance. Here are a few key steps to ensure your warm-up is effective.
Step 1: Get Warm!
Choose one or complete both of the following:
Perform light cardiovascular activity for at least 3 to 5 minutes. This is a great time to allow your body temperature to rise slowly, your heart to begin to work harder, and your blood and oxygen to distribute to your working muscles. It also kick-starts your energy.
Foam roll: Make sure to hit all angles of your calves, hamstrings, glutes, quads, lats and mid- to upper- back. Aim for about 20 to 30 seconds on each area. Foam rolling is a great way to increase your blood flow, reduce tension in your tissues, break up adhesions, increase your range of motion at a joint and enhance your movement performance.
Step 2: Get Limber!
Perform dynamic stretches that target the muscle groups you’ll be hitting in your workout. Make sure your movements are in all three planes of motion (front to back, side to side and rotational).
Try this dynamic warm-up video to learn some great dynamic stretches utilizing all three planes of motion.
Step 3: Stabilize and Prime!
Utilize bodyweight movements or light resistance to get your muscles ready to fire properly with stabilization or engagement exercises. Make sure to utilize muscles or movement patterns you’ll be utilizing in your workout.
Below are some great exercises to choose from when designing this portion of your warm-up. Remember, it’s all about control. Emphasize the engagement of your muscles, and take your time.
- Air squats
- Bodyweight good mornings
- Alternating side lunges (bodyweight)
- Glute-bridge taps or single-leg glute-bridge taps
- Reverse lunge and twist (bodyweight)
- Balance reach
- Inchworms (with or without push-up)
- Push-ups with rotation
- Bear crawl
- Prone angel wings
- Bird dog
- Low plank with mini leg lifts
- Side plank
- High plank to down dog shin taps
Get warm, get limber, stabilize and prime! These steps are great for your warm-up, and they can be used as a workout when you’re short on time or need an active recovery/prehab day. Try them out to see how much more efficient your workout can be!
by Megan McKee