Mobility Monday – Are you warming up before you begin your training session?

Published: Mon, 08/21/17

Good morning,

Happy Monday, hope your day is off to a great start!

Real quick, I wanted to thank you for taking the time to fill out my survey a few weeks ago. If you didn’t get a chance to, you can still do so here.

The responses were constructive, and I hear you. I will definitely be using the critiques and feedback as I create new programs, blogs/emails, and services.

Let’s get to the topic at hand for today.

I wanted to share with you the importance of warming up before a workout.  I know time is probably of the essence, but even with that said, all you need is a solid 5 minutes, or 10 if you have it, to prep the body before you start to lift the things.

Are you warming up pre-workout or are you just stretching? Holding that one hamstring stretch or the quad stretch and then getting started?

Another question - when you stretch before the workout ,do you feel warm and prepped for your workout?

I'm guessing probably not.

Ever had a workout where you didn’t quite feel right, but couldn't quite put your finger on it. The weights felt super heavy, or you just didn’t feel fluid or loose?

If so, you might be missing the dynamic warm up piece, because stretching cold (not warmed up) can possibly lead to injury or reduced performance during your workout. Stretching pre-workout has actually been proven to negatively affect strength!

I can say this - folks over stretch - we think it feels good while doing it, which it does, but it’s just temporary relief. Tight muscles don’t always need to be stretched and held forever - they need stability and mobility.

You can read more here on why stretching is not always the answer and more on the importance of dynamic warm ups here.

What is a dynamic warm up exactly, and how does it differ from just stretching before you begin working out?

Dynamically warming up is a series of continuous movements that prep the body before you start your lifting session. Dynamic movements will bring your core temperature up, increase your range of motion, and get the blood flowing to your muscles.

Whereas stretching is holding the muscle in a fixed place in a static position - not moving the extremity/limb through a full range of motion. Holding a stretch is not warming up the muscle nor does it get the blood flowing.

 
Last week over on my Facebook Business Page, I shared a post on the importance of Dynamic Warm ups and where stretching falls in place. You can check that post out here. There's also an accompanying video to go along with my #MobilityMonday FB post. So, you will be be able to see what a quick warm up session could look like! 
 
Why should you warm up with dynamic movements?

To prevent injury and to keep you mobile! Doing dynamic movements, even on non-strength training days are very beneficial as well.

We sit too friggin much. If you have a desk job, it’s imperative that you get up, get to moving, and/or break up the sitting with intervals of standing while working. Just moving/exercising for our workouts, unfortunately, isn’t enough. Start adding some dynamic movements a few times throughout the day and watch your aches and pains go away.

When’s the last time you complained about your lower back at the end of the day? It’s a chronic issue and number 1 issue for the general population. Why? Hips, weak glutes, and over tight hamstrings are the issue. How can you fix it? Movement, exercise, not sitting so much, and being active. Most importantly, strengthening your glutes, quads, and keeping your hips mobile.

Well, Candace, I don’t have time to do a separate warm up - think of it as a buy in into your workout. I gotcha, I get it, you just want to hop right in because all you have is an hour, give or take, to get your workout in and you want to devote all the time to the weights. #LiftTheThings

See, here is what you do. Pick 3-5 dynamic type movements, set the timer for 5 minutes and get it moving.

The other thing that I meant to mention above is that if you don’t at least warm up in the way I am suggesting, then do some body weight exercises such as lunges, squats, jumping jacks, heck even jump rope. Jumping rope will get you all the way warmed up in no time.

I can tell you from my experience with training over the years, that warming up before working out has kept me injury and pain-free.

Don't skip your warm up if you can help it!

Happy Monday and thanks for reading my ramblings, and have a great week! 

If anything resonated with you, hit the reply button and let me know whats on your mind or any nutrition, fitness, or mindset question that you may have.

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