Warming up can take many forms when it comes to strength training. Lifters tend to go one of two ways. There are those who spend 20-40 mins performing all manner of dynamic stretches, myofascial release work, ‘muscle activation’ and CNS Potentiation drills.  There are also who do a set of 10 reps on the empty bar on the first exercise they are training that day and then start working up in weight.

Which is right?

Well in actual fact, neither and both. Context is key and intention trumps the specific content of the warm up.

When warming up, you should be attempting to achieve a state of readiness to perform the exercises and tasks of your workout. Which way you do this, provided the outcome is positive, will come down to a certain amount of personal preference and will be specific to the person. So what should a warm up achieve?

1. A warm up should increase your heart rate (slightly) and also increase blood flow to the muscles which will be used in the workout.  Your core temperature should be raised slightly when exercising.
2. Sufficient range of motion at your joints must be obtained in order to efficiently complete the exercises in the workout whilst avoiding risk of injury. Muscles are also more resistant to injury when warmer.  If you do not gain sufficient range in your joints you will often rely on muscular compensation to perform movements and this can lead to poor positioning under heavy loading which can result in injury.
3. You should ensure than the connective tissue and muscle tissue is in good condition and not holding tightness or too much soreness. Depending on your activities / work / travel prior to training this can be more of a priority for some than others. Myofascial release does not have to take long though. Whilst you should do some if necessary, I do find that sometimes lying over a foam roller and performing release work, which will make you feel loose and relaxed, does not always get people into the alert energised state necessary to best undertake the training session.
4. Literally ‘Greasing the groove’ – warming up before exercise increases the amount of synovial fluid in your joints and helps them move more smoothly and freely. This is like putting oil/grease on the gears and chain of a bicycle. Motion becomes easier.
5. ‘Increasing Motor Unit Recruitment’ – A motor unit (within a muscle) consists of a motor neuron and the relevant muscle fibres is controls. The more motor units within a muscle that have access to ‘switch on’ the more efficient and more powerful muscular contractions you can produce.  A warm up should be looking to ‘fire you up’ in terms of your central nervous system gaining access to as many motor units within the muscle as possible.
6. Central Nervous System Potentiation – This is a process of activating the brain and central nervous system to prepare it for exercise. Often fast paced exercises and explosive drills can be used for this. You must become more alert and heighten your body awareness to prepare you to be in better control when performing the workout. When using methods of CNS Potentiation, if you still feel sluggish this could be a sign you are carrying higher levels of fatigue than is ideal and may wish to taper the demands of the workout accordingly.
7. Skill acquisition and practice of the movements – A warm up should be a reminder of the movement and skill of performing the movements. No matter how many weeks, months and years we train for, we must keep the movements fresh in our minds and the warm up is your opportunity to bring back the technique to the forefront of your mind.
8. Finally (in my opinion, most importantly) a warm up should facilitate a level of focus, concentration and mental alertness to ‘hit the ground running’ when starting the main body of your workout.  You must use the warm up to shed any other stresses you might be holding onto. Use the warm up to focus the mind and remind yourself of your reasons to train and your goals. Use the time as a form of meditation to run through in your mind what you are going to work hard on to achieve that session.

A warm up should be as efficient as possible, but will always be dictated by how long the person has to train. Within the standard hour long PT sessions I take with clients, I cannot afford to spend anything like 30 minutes warming up else we would lose too much time for the main exercises of the workout or accessory work. I regularly see powerlifters and strongman athletes taking a good 20-45 minutes to warm up, but often notice that much of this is really just ‘decompression’ from their day, disguised as foam rolling or stretching. It’s imperative to get your mental state correct before starting your session but not everyone can afford to lay on a roller, clearing their mind for half an hour.  So when does your warm up really start?  Maybe we could consider your journey to the gym part of your warm up. The walk or drive to the gym is a great opportunity to clear your mind, get yourself focussed and maybe even use music to elevate your mood and energy.  When you step through the gym door, you should step through with intent to work hard and be focussed. Try using the drive / walk to the gym as part of your time to mentally focus and watch how much less time you feel you need to physically warm up.

So, going back to those two styles of warming up (the simple empty barbell warm up versus the warm up containing stretches, cardio work, mobility drills and muscle activation exercises) can we see a way in which both could be made useful and effective? Do they both tick all the boxes for the list of warm up requirements above?

Lifting the empty barbell for some reps, can potentially raise the body temperature, will practice the exact skill to be performed in the workout, can increase the production of synovial fluid, will assess joint mobility through the exact movements themselves, however without any additions or modifications perhaps does not do much for CNS potentiation, and if your muscles are tight a handful of reps will be less than likely to release the tight areas.  Whilst your heart rate might be slightly elevated from a set of 10 reps on the empty bar, the effect will be minimal.

So perhaps whilst the simple efficiency of just lifting the empty bar does seem to tick quite a few boxes, perhaps for the best results we should look to add some other items into the warm up.

• A quick 60-180 second pulse raiser. This could be bodyweight squats, sled drags / pushes, rowing machine or a brisk walk up and down the road (maybe with a weight vest on).
• Myofascial release work, but rather than a full body foam roller massage session, just concentrate on some select key areas known to often be tight and restricted. Make this relevant to the muscles to be worked in the session. This should be done straight after your pulse raiser, and not before, as when people come into the gym half awake, lying down on the floor immediately will encourage a sluggish start to their workout which is the opposite of what we want.

• IF you have any know stiffness and joint limitations, add in 1-4 targeted mobility drills / stretches to develop the necessary range of muscle at the joints without leaving yourself too ‘loose’ to create tension in your primary movements. My preferred method for this, is after your myofascial release work (which should only take 3-4 mins max) set up your barbell for your primary exercise, and setup and do a set of 6-10 reps, see what areas feel tight and then go off and perform 1 mobility drill before coming back to the empty bar to perform a second set. Ask yourself, has that improved the ‘feel’ of the movement. If so, great, consider using that again next session. If anything else still feels like it needs work, then repeat this process with additional mobility drills / stretches until the movement feels natural and pain free.
• Use some explosive movements / drills to ‘fire up’ the central nervous system. This could be simply using ‘compensatory acceleration’ on the barbell when performing your warm up sets (where you aim to generate maximal force even when the weight is still light) or by adding some specific and relevant exercises similar in nature to the primary movements of your workout. Plyometrics, Jumps and throws are fantastic for this.  Medicine ball passes or throws, box jumps or sprints being three common athletic staples in the training plan of anyone wanting to build explosive strength.  Usually 1-2 sets of these is sufficient, or a short cluster of single reps. Keep the rest times short and concentrate on quality of movement.

For those wanting to make their warm up as quick and straightforward as possible here is the revised Empty Barbell Warm Up when used for a barbell Squat workout.

3 mins – Walking (treadmill or outside) (Advanced option: use weight vest or ankle weights or both)

Bodyweight Squats x 20

Bottom position Squat Stretch x 60 seconds

Empty Barbell Overhead Squats x 6

Empty Barbell Back Squats x 6 (lowering for 5 seconds, 2 seconds pause in hole and explosively drive up)

Barbell Squat Jumps x 6

Then begin to work up in weight on main exercise.

There are countless additional drills, stretches and exercises which can be used to effectively warm up, and it is highly important your warm up matches your time limitations, workout requirements and suits your personality. A good warm up will not just reduce the chance of injury but will mentally and physically prepare you to perform at your best each session. The warm up should be refined and tailored to you as an individual. As your goals change, as you gain strength, your warm up should develop over time as well.

For personalised warm up plans and ideas as to how you can better mentally and physically approach your training sessions please email info@ironforgegym.co.uk.