Why Are Warm-Ups Essential?

Most of us know that a well-constructed warm-up be extremely beneficial to improving performance.

Along with improving mental focus, the warm-up can help prepare the muscular and cardiovascular systems by:

1. Increasing core body temperature
2. Increasing joint range of motion
3. Reducing muscular injury
4. Improving muscle elasticity

The Key Components for a Warm-Up

The term warm-up can mean any number of activities that prepare us to perform. This typically means preparing our bodies and minds to perform more safely and efficiently.

This can include stretching, soft tissue-work, mental exercises and many other techniques.

Simply put, an effective warm-up can be broken down into 6 parts:

1. Improving tissue quality
2. Muscle activation
3. Corrective Exercises
4. Increasing our heart rate
5. Stretching
6. Mental preparation

Key Warm-Up Components Explained

Tissue Quality or Myofascial Release can help improve mobility to break down knots and scar tissue.

Performing Activation exercises that target the stabilizing muscles is essential in reducing the risk of injury.

Corrective Exercises can improve movement restrictions and imbalances that the athlete may have.

Thermogenesis is simply increasing the athletes tissue temperature preferably by the usage of movement skills.

Stretching by using a combination of static stretching to increase tissue length and dynamic stretching to enhance movement.

Mental Preparation to excite the nervous system so it is ready to perform effectively.[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line”][vc_column_text]

The List of Warm-Up Exercises 

Here are 2 exercises that you can implement for each category. Video demonstrations are below!

Tissue Quality:

1. Foam Rolling Series: 15 seconds/body part
2. Pin and Stretch Series: 10 reps/body part

Activation:

1. Monster Walk: 10 steps fwd/bwd
2. Plank w/ Reach: 10 reps/side

Corrective Exercises:

1. Open Half-Kneeling Ankle Mobilizations: 10 reps/side
2. 90/90 Hp Turns: 5 reps/side

Thermogenics:

1. 1-Leg Lateral Pogo Hop: 20 seconds/side
2. Rotating Tuck Jump: 5 reps/side

Stretching:

1. 1/2 Kneel Adductor Stretch: 20 seconds/side
2. Knee-Hug to Lateral Lunge w/ Overhead Reach: 5 reps/side

Mental Preparation:

1. Agility Ladder: 1 minute
2. Dot Drill Sequence: 10-20 seconds

Videos Explaining in Detail The Warm-Up Essentials

Need some more guidance? Check out the video demonstrations for each of these exercises:

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