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The warm up is considered by some to be the most important part of a training session.
However, it is also the part of a session that is most often performed improperly or without
a well thought-out plan. A well-designed warm up not only optimizes performance, it also
decreases the chance of experiencing injury. Unfortunately, we need much more research
examining warm ups as certain aspects of warm up protocols lack good evidence.
A good warm up will have three basic components, each one feeding off of the last. First,
before any movement takes place, self-manual therapy or SMT will be employed to increase
range of motion (ROM). As previously mentioned, the jury is still out as to the mechanism
by which these techniques work. But anyone who practices SMT will admit that it definitely
helps, and in some cases, it can decrease muscle pain during movement. The second and
third components are dynamic mobility and activation drills. These may be performed
consecutively or interspersed with each other, and certain movements may even combine
the two such as the yoga push-up.
Dynamic mobility drills bring joints through their full range of motion in a dynamic fashion.
It’s been shown that static stretching can acutely decrease force production in the muscles.
This is why dynamic stretching done for repetitions is a much more optimal way to
increase joint range of motion prior to training.
Last, are muscle activations; these are low level/load exercises in which muscles are
contracted for low repetitions in order to prime them neurally and increase body
temperature. This ensures that they ‘fire’ optimally during training. They might also work
through a post-activation potentiation effect, or PAP. The goal here is to do 8 or so
repetitions to get the muscles going without quite reaching fatigue. There is no hard set
number as far as repetitions are concerned however. The main goal is to stimulate, not
fatigue the muscles.
Warming up is definitely somewhat of an art form. This is why we won’t prescribe any hard
set rep schemes or progressions, but rather provide suggestions and techniques that we’ve
found to work for us. After reading this, you’ll have an idea as to how much volume of each
of the three components you should employ. Like anything in
fitness; experiment, listen to your body, and figure out what works
best for you.
In the following section, we will recommend certain tools for each muscle based on
personal experiences and what we’ve found works for us and our clients. Once again, you
must experiment and find what works and feels best for you.
Pressure=Force/Area. When choosing a tool, think about how much pressure you want to
apply. The smaller the tool is, the more pressure it will produce. You can use the foam
roller for virtually every body part, but you will soon find that the pressure you’re able to
produce isn’t sufficient for certain areas. This is the time for you to graduate to a smaller
tool in order to achieve the desired effect.
Let’s take the calves for example. When you first roll them out, you may be able to achieve
the appropriate amount of pressure (and subsequent discomfort) justby placing both of
your legs onto the foam roller and massaging them. Soon,
however, you’ll find that you need to stack the legs in order
to increase pressure on just one of the calves to achieve the
desired effect. Soon thereafter you may need to use a
softball on each calf individually. Conversely, if you choose
a tool and the level of discomfort is too much, you should
regress to a larger tool. You want to produce just the right
amount of tension and discomfort. There’s no need to get
medieval and torture yourself during the warm-up.
With your shoes off, place your foot on the ball and roll from the heel to each toe creating
five lines to each toe with the ball. Do 3 or 4 passes on
each line.
Calves/Peroneals – Softball
Hamstrings - Softball
For the groin, you will need to use two positions. For the medial
aspect of the upper leg, lie prone on the ground and kick one leg
out to the side so that the femur is abducted and the knee is at
roughly 90 degrees of flexion. Place the foam roller under the
upper leg so that it is parallel to the body and perpendicular to
the upper leg. Work 2-3 inch sections from the crotch down to
the knee.
For the glutes, sit down on the foam roller then lean over
towards the side you want to work. Hug the knee on that
side to the chest so that the hip is flexed. Roll up and down
digging into the glute on that side; focus on the spots that
feel tender. Once you feel that the foam roller isn’t giving the
desired effect you can graduate to a medicine ball or
softball.
Dynamic Mobility
Dynamic Mobility Video
Dynamic mobility drills are designed to help increase both flexibility and body temperature
prior to training. These, however, may also be done on non-training days to help address
more pertinent mobility issues wherever you may have them.
Research has shown that static stretching prior to activity can reduce the amount of force a
muscle can produce. This is why we opt for dynamic stretches. Some of these stretches
achieve the same positions you’d see people doing statically but are done for repetitions
rather than holds.
Dynamic mobility drills are most commonly seen in athletic training settings. However,
they have recently been gaining traction in the general strength training community, as
there is no denying how effective they are for improving range of motion. The strongest
squat in the world is meaningless if the proper depth cannot be achieved.
In athletic settings, coaches typically employ a general warm up hitting on all regions since
the entire body is used in multiple vectors to play most sports. We prefer to keep things
more specific since we are only training a couple of major lifts each day.
If we’re training squats or deadlifts; the hips, ankles, glutes, and thoracic spine are focal
points in the warm up. And if we are training bench or military press, we’ll spend a bit
more time on the shoulders. Since all lifts are total body lifts when done properly, we’ll
usually end up doing some type of mobility for each joint each day just with a little more
volume on whatever region it is that we’re training for the day.
Pick a few dynamic mobility drills and perform one set of 6 to 8 repetitions of each once
you’ve completed your SMT for the day.
Groiners - Hips
• Assume a pushup position
• Step one leg to the outside of the same side hand,
keeping that foot flat
• If you can’t get your foot all the way up next to the
hand, get it as far up as you can while keeping it flat
• Push your hips towards the ground until a stretch is
felt in the groin and hamstrings
• Bring that leg back to the starting position and
repeat on the other side
Muscle Activation
Muscle Activation Video
Muscle activation refers to low intensity/low load movements involving the muscles that
are about to be trained. This prepares them neurally and helps increase body temperature
for optimal performance.
Core Activations
RKC Plank
• Assume a plank position
• Keep the feet together and a
slight bend in the knees
• Posteriorly tilt the pelvis and
squeeze the abs and the glutes as
hard as possible for the duration
of the set
Side Plank
• Lie on your side and place the
elbow directly under the shoulder
• The feet may be stacked or one
placed in front of the other
• Without allowing the body to rotate
or the hips to flex, elevate the hips and
straighten out the body
• Hold this position for the desired
duration