4-Block Warm-Up Template

Description

Turn Your Warm-Ups Into Actual Development Time

A structured warm-up system that helps you plan, progress, and reuse the most repeated part of your training year.
Warm-ups happen before every session. Off-season. In-season. Win or lose.

Yet most teams are still treated as filler. Same routine every day. Random drills. No progression. Enough to raise heart rate, but not enough to move the needle.

Coaches often want warm-ups to do more, but end up stuck between time pressure, logistics, and decision fatigue.
So the warm-up becomes something you repeat, not something you develop.

Over a full year, that adds up to dozens of hours of missed opportunity.

The 4-Block Warm-Up Template turns the warm-up into a planned and progressive system.

Instead of improvising each day, you get a clear structure that connects warm-ups to long-term athletic development and the session that follows.

You stop guessing what to include and start rotating progressions that are already thought through.

With the 4-Block Warm-Up Template, you can:

• Use warm-ups to reinforce movement quality and coordination across the year
• Save time by planning once and reusing structured progressions
• Keep warm-ups fresh without constantly inventing new drills
• Increase athlete intent and engagement in a part of training that is usually monotonous
• Create a seamless transition from warm-up to the main session
• Maintain developmental exposure even during busy competitive periods

How the 4-Block Warm-Up Template works:

Step 1 – Choose one of the provided warm-up sequences based on your context.
Step 2 – Run the warm-up using the four structured blocks and recommended distances and repetitions.
Step 3 – Progress to the next block when appropriate and continue reinforcing the same movement competencies with higher complexity and intent.

No daily redesign. No overthinking.

Main Features:

• Four clear warm-up blocks aligned with Heat, Mobility, Activation, and Prime
• Three complete warm-up sequences to rotate throughout the week
• Planned progressions for each movement, especially in Activation and Prime
• Four progressions per movement where progression matters most
• Video demonstration links for every included movement
• Practical recommendations for distances and repetitions
• Flexible structure that can be adapted to sport, season, and time available

This template is for you if you:

• Work as a strength and conditioning coach or sport performance coach
• Run team sessions with limited preparation time
• Want warm-ups to contribute to development, not just readiness
• Prefer structure and progression over daily improvisation

This template is not for you if you:

• Only want a single static warm-up routine
• Are looking for a sport-specific competition warm-up only
• Do not plan to use warm-ups consistently across the year

Use cases

Team training environment

Before: Same warm-up every day with declining athlete intent.
After: Rotating warm-ups with clear progression and better engagement.

In-season phase

Before: Warm-ups trimmed down to the bare minimum.
After: Shorter warm-ups that still reinforce key movement qualities.

Off-season planning

Before: Warm-ups designed week by week.
After: Warm-ups planned once and progressed alongside training phases.

The 4-Block Warm-Up Template is built on the same principles outlined in the Systemizing and Planning the Warm-Up article and reflects real coaching practice rather than theory.

It is designed by coaches, for coaches, and shared to improve how warm-ups are used across the profession.

The template and framework are created by Scott Kuehn, drawing from real coaching experience and a systematic approach to warm-up design and progression across the training year.