I see people all the time who walk into the gym, hop on the treadmill for a few minutes, then jump right into some type of intense physical activity. Now I understand that not everyone is as well informed as I am when it comes to fitness, but doesn't this seem kind of stupid? Is walking on that treadmill preparing you to dominate your training session?
The perfect warm up should accomplish a few things.
- Raise core body temperature
- Increase flexibility and extensibility of muscles
- Improve alignment and posture
- Activate the Central Nervous System
- Prepare you to open up a can of whoop ass
Now how do a couple of minutes walking or running on a treadmill accomplish all of these things? Do you think Dan Marino just walked on the treadmill for a few minutes before he stepped on the field to shred opposing defenses?
Probably, but you aren't Dan are you?
Here are the elements that I believe are necessary for the perfect warm up.
Soft Tissue Work
As it pertains to the warm up, soft tissue work will be classified as use of the foam roller and lacrosse/tennis ball on common areas of soft tissue restriction. The roller and lacrosse ball are used to apply direct pressure to some of these "hot spots", affecting slow adapting, low threshold mechanoreceptors, helping decrease sympathetic nervous system activity, thus reducing tone and tension in muscles that need it. It also helps restore adequate hydration levels in all of your tissues, which is also important for flexibility and extensibility.
Basically, it loosens things up and makes you feel pretty good too.
Spend 3-5 minutes working on your problem areas like hip flexors, quads, TFL/IT band, adductors, calves, lats, pecs, and T-spine.
Ground Work
I think we human beings don't spend enough time on the ground. We spend plenty of time sitting on our asses and laying on the couch, slowly rotting away into piles of blubbery hunched over flesh.
I love Wii and bacon, but come on man!
The ground provides valuable sensory feedback for the body. When you are on the ground, you are in a position of much greater stability because there are more points of contact for your body to draw stability from. This allows your body to move through greater ranges of motion. If you can't move well on the ground, its a safe bet that you don't move very well when standing.
This is a great place to begin your warm up because it follows a logical progression of taking your body from a position of more stability to less stability. It makes it easier to turn on stabilizers and loosen up areas that need it before your body needs to worry about doing more complex tasks like squatting and jumping.
Additionally, ground work prepares you for more fundamental tasks you need daily, like crawling around with your kids, gardening, or working on the car. I am amazed with how much people struggle with something as simple as getting on the ground and standing up again. Around 28,000 people are injured every year from fall related injuries.
"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"
Don't you think that spending more time on the ground and getting back up might help you out? I'm not a huge fan of yoga, but I use a lot of yoga-based movements in my warm ups. Check out the video below from fellow movement Jedi Eric Cressey for an example of four things you can use.
Self Limiting Exercise
I love self limiting movements. They help build coordination, proprioception, and give some feedback to how you are progressing in terms of your overall movement capability. A perfect example of a self limiting exercise is jumping rope. If you can't jump rope, you will know it pretty quickly. It will either make you feel really cool or incredibly stupid. With practice, you can get better at it and impress all your friends! Seriously though things like this are vastly under rated. Pick one or two and add them into your warm up. Some examples of self limiting exercise are:
- Jump Rope
- Turkish Get Ups
- Bear Crawls
- Single Leg Movements
- Kettlebell Bottoms Up Presses
- Handstands
Movement Prep
I would classify movement prep as performing tasks specific to what you are going to be doing in your training session. For example, on squat day I might spend some time in the bottom position of a bodyweight squat, focusing on stating tight with a neutral spine. Then I will move to some bodyweight squats, followed by squats with the unloaded barbell and progressively add weight until I get into my work sets.
You can also spend some time practicing skills. If you are in to Olympic lifting or Kettlebell sport this is a perfect opportunity to dedicate some time to skill work.
Be Specific
A great warm up should address any specific limitations that you have. For example, if you sit at a desk all day and can't touch your toes, your warm up should include movements that loosen up the backside and activate the core. Do you have knee pain? Spend some extra time rolling out your quads and calves. Making your warm up specific to your needs will help keep you pain free in the long run and improve performance.
Wrap Up
This might seem like a lot to do before you get into your training, but if you move through things quickly, spending 3-5 minutes on each category, it should never take more than 15 minutes.
Any questions on what to do? Let me know in the comments section!
No comments:
Post a Comment