The Ins and Outs of a Warmup

Welcome back to the Total Performance Newsletter! If you are a new subscriber and did not receive previous editions, let me know and I will send them over right away! This month, we will continue to take a look at some specific movement and injury-related issues that commonly arise and how to deal with them.

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Getting back to today's newsletter, we will focus on the why, the how, and the what of warming up for a rehab/training session.

Why Warmup

Let's start with the why. The main point of warming up is to prepare the body for what you are about to do. Just like you wouldn't (or at least shouldn't) go into a test without studying, you shouldn't jump right into exercise without making sure you are physically prepared. Now, this can look vastly different based on what the rest of the session will look like. Sometimes a warmup can just be manual therapy, sometimes it can be 1-2 exercise circuits, or even a combination of both. Regardless, there should always be some type of prep work done before diving into the main work of the session.

How to Warmup

There are countless stretches, exercises, and manual therapy techniques to use as a warmup, but no matter which you choose, the warmup should do 3 things.

First, it should quite literally warm you up. If you are using exercise as a warmup, your heart rate should be at least slightly elevated and maybe even break a light sweat. If you are using only manual therapy, you will not get the same systemic effect but the area you worked on should at least feel looser and more mobile.

Second, it should improve ranges of motion that are lacking and that are relevant to the rest of the session. For example, if you lack some hip motion and you plan on squatting, your warmup should address the specific motions you lack that could impact your squat.

Finally, it should allow you to practice the movements you will need for the main focus of the session, or at least use the same muscles in similar ranges of motion and positions as you will need later on. For example, if you are going to deadlift later in the session, your warmup should have some type of hinge motion that utilizes the glutes, hamstrings, and quads. If you are going to bench press, your warmup should have pushups, lighter pressing movements, or at least something that uses the arms, shoulders, and chest muscles.

Warmup Examples

As stated above, there are countless ways to structure a warmup and a never-ending list of methodologies, but here is the general outline I most often use. The basic idea is to first open up ranges of motion, and then train the body to use those ranges of motion in a more active way.

1. Manual therapy or SMR with foam rolling or lacrosse ball

   • If necessary, this is where I will utilize manual therapy techniques to improve ranges of motion that we will need for the session; if you are not working with a qualified practitioner, using a foam roller, lacrosse ball, or massage gun is a good substitute. Ideally, I try to skip this portion and go right to positional breathing exercises. Here are some examples: Glutes, Quads, Chest, Upper Back​

2. Stretching

   • Stretching serves a similar function to manual therapy, and again is only used if necessary to decrease tension on specific muscles. Ideally, I also try to skip this portion and go right to positional breathing exercises. Here are some common stretches I utilize: Hip, Quad, Inner Thigh, Lat/Obliques​

3. Positional Breathing Exercises

   • There is lots of nuance to how these are performed, but they can be really powerful in opening up ranges of motion. I've provided a few basic cues below. Essentially, we are utilizing our position and our breath to create space for body to move better. I usually use just one of these in each session, but here are a few examples to choose from:

     • ​Quadruped Breathing; gently push upper back away from hands; long, slow, relaxed breaths-inhale through your nose, exhale through your mouth while maintaining position; goal is to feel a gentle stretch in upper back; this will improve shoulder motion

     • ​Hooklying Pullover Breathing; keep back of hip bones in contact with the ground; inhale as your arms go overhead, exhale as they return to starting position; only raise arms overhead as far as you can maintain position; should feel gentle stretch in upper chest when you raise arms overhead/inhale; this will improve shoulder motion

     • ​Offset Glute Stretch Breathing; have more weight on leg that is slightly back; push hips back while maintaining "soft" knees; should feel gentle stretch in glute of back leg; long, slow, relaxed breaths-inhale through your nose, exhale through your mouth while maintaining position; this will improve hip motion

     • ​Mini Wall Squat Breathing; start your foot's length away from the wall; do a mini squat while maintaining contact with your back/top of back hip bones against the wall; long, slow, relaxed breaths-inhale through your nose, exhale through your mouth while maintaining position; this will improve hip and shoulder motion

4. Dynamic Exercises

   • This is really the main part of the warmup. After we have opened up ranges of motion using one or a few of the techniques above, this is where we train our body to use those motions and really get ready for the rest of the session. Here, I typically use 2-3 exercises in a circuit with minimal rest in between. When choosing which exercises to use for each person, I make sure to address a specific need related to the rest of the session. Here are some examples of warmup exercises I frequently use:

   • Lower Body: Airplane Windmill; Toe Taps; Inchworm; Reverse Kickstand RDL; Cable Box Squat; Lateral Squat, Reverse Lunges​

   • Upper Body: Pushup ISO Rotation, Armbar, Shoulder Rotation, Crab Hip Lift, Yoga Pushup​

   • Core: Bear ISO Hold, Modified Side Plank, Deadbug, Suitcase March​

Again, these exercises are by no means an exhaustive list of all the ways to warmup. The best way to make sure you have the proper warmup for you is to work with a skilled clinician or coach, but if you don't, try out some of these examples and see what works best for you!

Hopefully this information provides some insight into an important but often overlooked part of a rehab/training program that can be a real difference maker in helping you get the most out of your time in the gym!

Stay tuned for next month’s newsletter, where will we continue to look into some common issues that arise and practical solutions to deal with them! Also, if you have any topics that you want to see covered in a future newsletter, please let me know!

Brett