I’d say for 90% of my clients about 90% of the time perform my?standard?warmup. This entails a constant walk on the treadmill or jog or possibly rowing machine just for a few minutes to elevate heartbeat and increase blood circulation. Then over to the turf position for some dynamic movement prep. Fancy code for stretching while walking. This ensures nothing is static or just being held for too much time. Since it can seem to be pretty good to carry a stretch, it may be simple to fall into this trap. However static stretching isn’t ideal before exercising (you will find exceptions).
Recently I’ve noticed clients keep up with the sluggish pace they start by helping cover their, for the duration of the warmup. I visit get them started and they’re not prepared. We’re halfway through our first “working” set and it’s evident they?are not heated up.
20 lazy squats with a bare barbell doesn’t simulate any intensity you’ll need during your working sets. We need to perform a better job stimulating the central nervous system during warm ups. Obtaining the heart rate up is not enough. Whatever your warmup preferences, if you aren’t doing these things your warmup is more useless than turd flavored lollipop.
Your warmup should do the next:
- Elevate HR
- Stimulate blood flow
- Excite the nervous system
- Prepare body for upcoming activity (require more correlation between warm-up and activity being performed)
- Restore joint ROM
A standard time for starting to warm up (ie. A few minutes or 10 minutes) is not relevant. I’ve 13 year olds who take maybe 3 minutes tops to get going and as much as 20 minutes with a few of my older desk jockeys. For myself, there are some days when I’m basically all set to go as they are, yet others where I’m approaching 10-15 minutes.
Warming up is really a science, but additionally an art that can take time to figure out for yourself.