Don’t be fooled by the title Warm-ups are a key factor in any athletic or general fitness program.
However, that says a lot of people go to their physical therapy session or to their coach and get the swamp standard, “warm up on the treadmill for ten minutes” or “run five laps” every time they have a session.
Warm-ups are a key factor in any program, as is cool-down, and should always be done despite time constraints. Don’t neglect your warm-up, as it is probably just as important as the outcome of your session.
Warm-ups can take a few forms, but the general consensus is that they should be:
Specific task
Prepare the body for the next workload
Prepare yourself psychologically
Increases heart rate and blood flow.
So does the lightweight treadmill warm-up or the bike warm-up fit the basic criteria? The simple answer is no.
Your warm-up should be about the following:
SMR- Foam Rolling (myofascial self-release)
Activation – dynamic movement
ROM- range of motion
The use of a ball, stick, or roller activates myofascial muscle fibers allowing feedback from tight areas and potential problems arising in the muscles.
Dynamic activation further prepares the body by stimulating increased CNS, blood flow, and heart rate, to name a few.
Dynamic activation leads to a greater range of motion in the muscle groups that prepare the body for the workload.
By performing a detailed warm-up using the method described above, we initiate a sequence of events within the body, allowing us to:
Prepare the muscles
Prevent injuries
Increase blood flow
Promote muscle flexibility.
Increase muscle flexibility.
Heating sample
Full-body foam roll including vertical and sagittal X-roll of muscles.
Rotational half squats
1b band of monsters walks
1c ninja gang rides
1d walking lunges with rotation
2nd diagonal wood chipper (mb) left
Diagonal wood chipper 2b (mb) right
2c wood chopper (mb)
2d around the world (mb)
3rd glute picks
Ankle spikes 3b
3c can opener
3d leaning on rotating windmill
Repeat the previous warm-up two more times, do not include the foam in subsequent series.
Every time you warm up, apart from the foam rolling, which should always be done first, start at a different point in the routine, this ensures that the body always adapts to the new stimuli and, therefore, promotes the activation of the muscles.
