Few Thoughts on the Warm-up
Warmup is, in my opinion, the most important part of the training session. First, it sets the stage for the main part of the workout, and secondly, it allows one to address the important components of the physical preparedness.
Over the years, I’ve changed my point of view regarding the warm-up, from the idea that it represents a component with a distinctive objectives separated from the main part, towards the idea that it represents potent time to address individual needs while setting the stage for the themes of the main part. This is a small paradigm change, but a crucial one. The question that should be answered during the warm-up should not be “What can I do to increase the body temperature”, but rather “What can I do at the current state (i.e. cold, stiff, sluggish) that brings me closer to the individual objectives and the theme of the training session“.
So rather than banging exercises for the sake of “warming up” such us:
- 50 jumping jacks
- 10 squats
- 50 seal jumps
- 10 push ups
- 50 jumping jacks
- 10 inverted rows
- 50 jumping jacks
- 20 sit-ups,
it would be much better to use this period to address the individual needs, while also warming up and preparing for the main part of the training. The qualities that are aimed at in this “subpar” state of the organism (while also warming up and progressing toward the main part of the session) are the following:
- Quality of movement (technical)
- “Stability” work
- Prehab and rehab work
- Mobility/Flexibility
So rather than directly aiming at “warming up the tissues”, we are achieving this using the oblique approach, while aiming at important objectives, taking into account the current state of the organism.
The warmup model that I found quite similar to the above is the RAMP by Ian Jeffreys. It can be easily “molded” into the above paradigm.
To expand your movement repertoire for the above warm-up categories, we have started a warmup section on our blog, where you can find warmup ideas, thoughts and suggestions from the well-known coaches such as Mike Boyle, Luka Hocevar and Greg Everett.
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