The first reason a warm up is important is because it does just what it’s name implies, it warms your body up. Spending a few minutes running, rowing, skipping rope, or performing any other low impact activity will help to send blood all over your body. This blood flow is going to break up the stiffness you feel when first starting to move and make you feel loose and ready to go. If you want to be creative you can also integrate light kettlebell swings, push ups, or another low impact movement that you are very comfortable with as a substitute for monostructural work.
Reason number two is that a solid warm up will increase your range of motion. After completing the aforementioned blood flow work, you should begin to move more dynamically using exercises like inchworms, high knees, leg/arm swings, etc. These exercises will generally require MORE range than is necessary for your training, but also be less intense. Having this additional movement capacity freed up will allow you to move more efficiently because you’re not fighting your own movement restrictions. In other words, it will take less energy to do the same amount of work.
A key point of the dynamic portion of your workout is usable range of motion. You could sit and foam roll and stretch for 30 minutes and open up all sorts of hamstring flexibility, but your leg is going to be limp and floppy afterwards, not at all the state you want to be in to run, jump, climb or lift. You’ll probably also be sleepy from lying down and sinking deep into your stretches, which also not the best for getting motivated to tackle a challenging training session. Save the stretching for a pre-bedtime routine where relaxation is the goal.
Number three is all about muscle activation. As an example, most people’s butts are turned off from sitting down all day. A combination of the constant pressure of your bodyweight, lack of blood flow and poor hip configuration result in an inability for the glutes to fire effectively and do their job. Taking the time to get blood to these muscles and engage them with stabilization and hip extension exercises will allow you use the full complement of your leg muscles to produce power and sustainability in your training. This same concept goes for the muscles around your shoulders if you slouch throughout the day and the muscles in your midsection that support your posture and spine as well.
Having this muscle activation will help you produce more power and help your body build strength in a balanced manner. Staying balanced keeps forces even across your joints and will promote longevity, not only allowing you to train harder, but to keep it up for years to come.
So there you have it, three reasons a general warm up will help you have a better workout today. Move blood and feel loose, increase your functional range of motion and recruit more muscles to do the day’s work.
Zack is a lifelong fitness enthusiast and loves to challenge himself on a daily basis. The process of overcoming this challenge is two fold: To gain mastery of himself physically, mentally and emotionally and to gain experience to more effectively coach others. Follow him on instagram to see how he tackles training and goals in his own life.
@zackheight
