The world class warm up Part II: An example

A good warm up stands between you and much safer, much more effective training. But what does one look like?

..no…not like this

In part one I went over the components of an elite warm up but off the  back of that I was asked  for a sample warm up – here’s what I often give out to strength athletes it is good for bodybuilers of most people weight training.

Fist raise body temperature

This aids oxygenation, mobility of muscle tissue and joints and generally prepares the body for work

• 5 mins incline walking or light, flat jog
• 5 mins ergo/rowing machine
• if you have it you can push a sled as well for 3 sets of 50 feet with 30 second rests

Second is tissue quality

Foam rolling the hot spots or problem areas on the body, this will ‘free up’ the muscle to fire more efficiently which means more work and more work = a better body:

• IT band
• Hip flexors
• Hamstrings
• Calves
• Pec
• Upper back (also thoracic extensions)
• Lats

Roll back and forth working out from the direction of the core to the extremity, work until there is a marked reduction in pain/feedback from tight muscles

Mobility

Stretching’s poor cousin this will actually do a lot more for the day-to-day ‘usefulness’ of your joints, work to the more extreme ranges of motion you can safely get and work the capacity for safe movement back into the joint

• Deep air (unloaded) squats, feet pointed out at 45 degrees 6 reps (wiggle side to side a little at the bottom)
• Thoracic mobility with foam roller
• Overhead squats
• Hanging from a pull up bar (stretches out the lat/shoulder girdle and may ‘open the spine’ a little allowing easier transfer of nervous impulses – if you believe that, not sure I do!)
• Ankle swings (leaning with hands on a wall do side to side swings of leg in front of you keeping the other foot flat on the floor, this opens out that ankle)

Muscle activation

A muscle can be strong but if it not firing at the right time or intensity (relative to other muscles in the region of the body being trained) then it’s all for nothing. Activating a muscle increases strength and stability meaning better safer training. Here we focus on the muscles that take a beating from modern life:

• Wall slides
• Scapular push ups
• Glute bridge
• Cobras

Getting HEAVY

You’re now ready to get into the serious training although you have already done more for you body than you know (most problems physios see are caused by problems the above corrects). The aim now is to ramp up the nervous system so it can best fire the high threshold motor units that are useful for shifting weight, you have two choices

Olympic lifts: a rep scheme with increasing loads and decreasing reps for the snatch and clean & jerk are great nervous system activators – you can’t help but move the weight fast.

• 5,3,2,1,1,1 hang power snatch

Core lift fast: using a combo of practice movements and fast movements as the weight escalates, take for example the squat:

• 12 reps very light (empty bar) medium fast, but strict with form -  get a feel of the movement
• 3 reps 30% 1RM medium fast
• 3 reps 40% 1RM medium fast
• 3 reps 50% 1RM fast
• 3 reps 60% 1RM fast
• 3 reps 65% 1RM fast

….you’re now more ready than you ever have been to get into your training session!

What about lighter or conditioning sessions?

This warm up works for conditioning sessions, in fact the above can be used as a great stand alone recovery session on it’s own a couple of times a week as it will:

• Increase mobility
• Lead to better tissue quality (and the strength increases to go with it)
• Help to improve posture
• Increase the delivery of nutrients to joints and muscle tissue