Why Skipping Your Warm-Up Is Hurting Your Progress
We’ve all been there—you get to the gym, pressed for time, and decide to jump straight into your workout. Maybe you start with a few light reps before diving into your lifts or sprints. But that is not enough. skipping your warm-up is robbing you of better performance, reducing your gains, and increasing your risk of injury, especially if you're over 30!
The Science Behind a Good Warm-Up
A proper warm-up does much more than just "loosen you up." It preps your nervous system, enhances blood flow to your muscles, and primes your body for optimal movement. When done correctly, a warm-up:
Increases Blood Flow: Warms up your muscles, reducing stiffness and improving elasticity.
Activates the Nervous System: Engages the right muscle groups for better coordination and strength output.
Improves Range of Motion: Helps you access better movement patterns, leading to more efficient lifts and fewer compensations.
Reduces Injury Risk: Prepares joints, tendons, and ligaments to handle workload stress.
Skipping this crucial step can mean sluggish performance, tighter muscles, and a higher chance of pulling something mid-workout. Over time, this leads to poor progress and an increased likelihood of setbacks due to injuries.
How to Structure Your Warm-Up
A proper warm-up should follow a structured approach to ensure all aspects of movement preparation are covered. Here’s a breakdown of an effective warm-up sequence:
1. Stretching for Tight Muscles
If you have particularly tight muscles that limit your range of motion, start with stretching. For extreme cases, static stretching (holding a stretch for 20-30 seconds) may be necessary, but for most people, active stretching is better. Examples include:
Hip Flexor Stretch – Helps counteract tightness from prolonged sitting.
Chest Stretch – Opens up the chest and shoulders, improving posture and range of motion for pressing movements.
Seated Hamstring Stretch – Loosens up the posterior chain for deadlifts and squats.
2. Activation Exercises
Next, target key muscles that tend to be underactive or need extra engagement before training. This step helps reinforce proper movement patterns and prevents compensations. Effective activation exercises include:
Dead Bug – Engages the core and improves spinal stability.
Glute Bridge – Wakes up the glutes to support hip-dominant movements like squats and deadlifts.
Banded Shoulder External Rotations – Prepares the rotator cuff for pressing movements.
Mini Band Lateral Walks – Activates the glute medius, improving hip stability and knee alignment for lower-body exercises.
3. Dynamic Stretching
Dynamic stretches involve controlled movements that take joints through their full range of motion, improving flexibility and circulation. Some great options include:
Leg Swings – Opens up the hips and hamstrings.
World’s Greatest Stretch – Combines multiple stretches to enhance mobility.
Band Over and Backs – Improves shoulder mobility and prepares the shoulders for pressing and overhead movements.
Kneeling Thoracic Rotations – Enhances spinal mobility and improves rotational movement for better overall function.
4. Neural Activation Exercises
The final step is to fire up your nervous system with quick, explosive movements. These prepare your body for fast, powerful actions and improve reaction time. Try:
Quick Feet Drill – Enhances coordination and foot speed.
Pogos (Ankle Hops) – Prepares the lower legs for impact-heavy movements like sprinting or jumping.
Medicine Ball Slams – Engages the core and upper body explosiveness.
Plyometrics In General — Enhance for production
Using Your Warm-Up to Address Mobility Needs
The warm-up is a great opportunity to work on mobility exercises and stretches that you tend to neglect. Even if you’re training your upper body, you can still use this time to improve flexibility and movement in your lower body. Addressing general tightness in your specific problematic areas can enhance overall performance and help prevent injuries over time. By working on your problem areas more regularly in your warm-up, you ensure that you're consistently working on mobility and don't have to stress about when you have to find time to do it independently.
Warming Up for Your Specific Workout
Your warm-up should be tailored to the type of workout you're about to do. A warm-up for heavy squats will look different from one for sprinting or overhead pressing. Here’s how you can modify your warm-up based on your training session:
Strength Training: Focus on joint mobility and activation exercises specific to the muscles being trained. For example, before squats, prioritize hip mobility drills and glute activation.
Explosive Workouts (Sprints, Jumps, Olympic Lifts): Include neural activation exercises like pogos or quick-feet drills to prime the nervous system for fast, powerful movements.
Endurance Workouts: Prioritize dynamic stretching and gradual intensity buildup to prepare your body for sustained effort.
Spending a few extra minutes warming up for your specific workout can make a huge difference in both performance and injury prevention.
How a Tailored Warm-Up Can Boost Your Training
Your warm-up should be specific to you and your training goals. A powerlifter's warm-up will look different from a sprinter’s, and someone with mobility restrictions may need extra work before they feel ready to move efficiently. A good warm-up should address your specific needs while getting you physically and mentally prepared for your session.
Example Warm-Up Routine
Here’s a general warm-up structure that I often use with clients. Keep in mind that everyone’s needs are different, so slight tweaks may be necessary to make it perfect for you.
Activation:
Deadbugs
Band glute bridge
Band pull aparts
Band external rotations
Dynamic Stretches:
Spiderman lunges
Over and backs
Mobility Squat
Neural Activation:
Quick jumping Jacks
Quick feet
Final Thoughts
A solid warm-up isn’t just a formality—it’s an essential part of maximizing your results and staying injury-free. The few extra minutes you spend prepping your body can make a significant difference in how well you perform and recover. So next time you’re tempted to skip it, remember: the better you warm up, the better you train!
