You are ONLY as good as your WARM-UP

YOU ARE ONLY AS GOOD AS YOUR WARM UP

How do you prepare your body for a workout? Do you prepare your body for a football game the same way you would for a strength training session? Probably not, or at least you shouldn’t. I am sure that you are familiar with the saying “use the right tools for the job”. Sure, this applies to fabrication of some sort of but it also applies to working out. Too many times I see athletes and strength coaches prepping incorrectly. I am pretty sure that butt kicks, A-skips and lateral shuffle aren’t going to help anyone drop their hips on their deadlift. I am also pretty sure that focusing a prep on thoracic spine mobility and wrist flexibility are not the best way to prep for a conditioning day. Here are two sample warm-up routines, One is best utilized for a strength day while the other is more suitable for a athletic movement day.

Strength Day Warm-up

Ankle Glides
Calf/Gastroc Stretch
Hip Circles
Hip Hydrants
Kneeling hip flexor stretch
Lunge w/ thoracic spine rotation
Lateral Lunge
Hands to instep stretch
Toe Touch (hamstring) to deep squat
Wall slides
Scapular retraction push-up
4 point external shoulder rotation
Scapular arm circles
Light military presses with Scapular Retraction


Athletic Day Warm-up

Heel /Toe Rocks
Toe jumps
In/outs
Butt kicks
A skip
Lateral shuffle
Lateral run
Carioca
Hamstring kicks
Backwards run
Jumping jacks
Seal claps
Foot fire drills

Remember that a warm up is exactly that -a warm up. You are preparing your body for the workout to follow. When your warm up is complete, you should feel good and ready to train. The main goals of a warm up are to:

-get a good sweat going
-increase core temperature
-increase flexibility and mobility

By accomplishing these goals, you are sure to get a better training session in.
Check back tomorrow for a video demonstrating all of the exercises mentioned above!