Examples of Warm-ups

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerlifting & Strength Sports
1

Hooollo Everybody,
I know that there are many CSCS’s, strength couches, S&C coaches, various sports specific coaches/trainers, a lot of PTs, instructors and many other strength sports and sports Nutcases on this site!! I know that many of you visit this forum, too.
Normally the quality of advice and responds is fantastic. Although I’ve been in the game for nearly 2 decades, I still learn new things from YOU!!

(well, there’s quite some shit too!)
:wink:

Anyway, I decided I am going to pick your brains!

I am becoming LAZY and complacent! Or maybe sometimes just temporarily slow (talking about “brain-power”).

I normally train quite a few people (various levels of performance: from weekend worriers to absolutely top guys competing in Nationals, European, Worlds and Para-Olympics . . .
well, and PLENTY of fat women of various shapes and level of BF).

We all have some specific ways of doing things… and now I wanted to talk about warm-ups.
I realised that although over the years I tried quite a few things, I tend to follow my own fads and am rather narrow minded when some of my “warm-up fads” is in fashion.

Example would be:

1 Choose 3-4 body weight exercises and perform them in circuit fashion, 30 sec each. Rest for a few seconds and…repeat 3-5 times.

(exercises such as Burpees, Lunges, squats, Light Turkish-Get-ups, jumping jacks, etc…)

2 Choose 3 of the above exercises and do them 3 min each (easy pace). Rest 1 min between sets.

3 Add skipping Rope to the above

4 Skipping Rope on its own - say 3 x 3 min

5 - Plenty other shit that I was brain washed with during my College and Sports Science/Physical Education studies.

Theory is theory, we all know it…but some drills are more entertaining than the others.

And here comes my question - Can you share your GOOD, INTERESTING Warm-ups from your repertoire…regardless the group you come from (sports specific, S&C, or just training Fat B******s).

I’d really appreciate your input. I reckon it could be of some help to many others on this site.

I just want to get this post going… I’ll surely add a few more myself.

Well, final note - 8-10 min of Treadmill followed by 10 minutes of static stretches - We ALL know this one, so save some electricity!

LoL

Cheers,

2

Try some plyometric exercises.

3

Just hit the dynamic warmup.

knees up
heels back
shuffle step
cross-overs
Shoulder mobility
neck mobility
circle squats
backwards sprints
walking one leg RDLs
one leg jump
commando crawl
somersaults (front roll, back roll)

skipping

or my favorite…

napping

-chris

4

“commando crawl” - was not sure what this was - so googled it . . . :slight_smile:
Well, I know now!

this “napping” could be interesting too!!

:slight_smile:

5

Commando crawl is a killer with an x vest or actual armor on. Some guys I used to train with were in the aussie SAS army and got the luxury of crawling 3 kilometers in full gear, full ammo, with a AR 15 platform gun in 35 degree celcius heat. they were hard bastards. Try standing on your head with your arms supporting you out to the sides for about 2 minutes. Man that gets your blood going and youreally start sweating. fun too, gives you a little “whippet-like” high after you stop.

-chris

[quote]FairDo wrote:
“commando crawl” - was not sure what this was - so googled it . . . :slight_smile:
Well, I know now!

this “napping” could be interesting too!!

:slight_smile:
[/quote]

6

Well, I admire all the special forces drills, but in my opinion once you’re really fit, increasing the distance or time of the exercises (like this comando crawl) + in full kit on is doing little more for your physical fitness… they are just mental exercises!
I like to achieve maximum one can get, using minimum time required to achieve it.
I am trying to say, that I prefere intensity than volume.

But of course I know that army or special forces drills are different ball games.

And … today I’m going to try this head stand thing for a couple of minutes :slight_smile: looks fun!

Going Back to Warm-ups:

I used to enjoy dragging the sledge as a warm-up

or…

light abdominals (only body weight or light resistance): 3-4 exerces do them again in circuit fashon

eg a) cross sit-up with light med ball 8 x each side
b) Russian twists with the same resistance 10x each side
c) lying leg raises 10 x
Repeat the above siquence 3 times… normally it takes around 7-8 mins

Any other WARM- up ideas??

thank you!

7

Here’s what the couple of athletes I train did this past week as a warmup:

Bent knee twist x 8
Prone/sup scorpion x 8
Birddog x 8
RDL Walk x 40 feet
Walking lung x 40 feet
Overhead squat (light med ball) 2 x 8
Med Ball Throws x 10
-chest pass
-overhead
-forward scoop
-backwards scoop
Overhead broomstick dislocations x 12
Static hip flexor stretch 2 x 15sec
Static hip rotator stretch 2 x 15sec
Trap stretch 2 x 15sec
Standing broad jumps x 5

8

[quote]jtrinsey wrote:
Here’s what the couple of athletes I train did this past week as a warmup:

Bent knee twist x 8
Prone/sup scorpion x 8
Birddog x 8
RDL Walk x 40 feet
Walking lung x 40 feet
Overhead squat (light med ball) 2 x 8
Med Ball Throws x 10
-chest pass
-overhead
-forward scoop
-backwards scoop
Overhead broomstick dislocations x 12
Static hip flexor stretch 2 x 15sec
Static hip rotator stretch 2 x 15sec
Trap stretch 2 x 15sec
Standing broad jumps x 5[/quote]

I do some of this too, am working on making my warm up a little longer. It’s kinda pricey, but I highly recommend the Cressey and Robertson DVD Magnificent Mobility, lot of great warmup exercises on there, I’ve just started putting it to use.

9

Yeah the military stuff is always really high volume and grueling. But some quick commandos across the floor for 1 min or so will get you pumping.

you’ll like the head stand, plus it’s fun to balance.

cart wheels and bear crawls are good to.

-chris

10

realpeanutbutter, what are some things that you do for shoulder mobility?

11

Tuck jumps in place:

10 jumps
rest for 10 seconds
9 jumps
rest for 9 seconds
8 jumps
rest for 8 seconds
…
…
.
.
.
2 jumps
rest for 2 seconds
1 jump
rest for 1 second

And now you’re all warmed up.

12

For my shoulder mobility warmup I do lots of shoulder circles and marches with front/back shoulder raises. As I get further in the warmup I do them faster and faster. I also do some manually resisted external rotators to get those bad boys a bit warmer.

13

I start with shoulder circles, swinging back and fourth, lateral raises front/back/side. just a couple mins worth.

Then I grab a skipping rope and fold it in half, grab it at snatch width and stretch it taunt. Then i circle it back behind my head into OH squat position. I go from front ot back like this for a bit and then do some straight arm skipping.

Grab the rope and skip but keep your elbows locked and really circle your shoulders. do that for 2 mins, it’s tiring, and then I have about two more inches of mobility backwards on OH squats.

Then I do my lifts, like snatch.

there are some wrestling movement drills that i use to but could never describe.

-chris

[quote]buckeye75 wrote:
realpeanutbutter, what are some things that you do for shoulder mobility?[/quote]

14

This is a hot warm up, I do it with burpees, or cartwheels. use this with any sport specific skill to warm up.

I knew a b-ball player that did this with jump-up-and-touch-the-rims and thena gain with medicine ball jump shots as a warm up. the guy got really good at dunking and jump shots really fast. he went from div 2 to div 1.

-chris

[quote]chrismcl wrote:
Tuck jumps in place:

10 jumps
rest for 10 seconds
9 jumps
rest for 9 seconds
8 jumps
rest for 8 seconds
…
…
.
.
.
2 jumps
rest for 2 seconds
1 jump
rest for 1 second

And now you’re all warmed up.[/quote]

15

[quote]realpeanutbutter wrote:

you’ll like the head stand, plus it’s fun to balance.

cart wheels and bear crawls are good to.

-chris[/quote]

well, I’ve just done head stand for exactly 2 min. it was not so bad as I though it would be.
it becomes somewhat tricky after 90 sec and I started to be aware of everything, my spine felt funny, thought that my head was getting flatter, too :wink:
shoulders feel pleasent as well

Good One!!

16

Now that you are a head stand break dancing master bring it up notch. Get a bike helmet or some kind of helmet and get your head stand on. then rotate yourself around in a circle. after a couple of those your shoulders will be warm as necessary.

Also try bringing your legs into splits. Side splits, front splits. have fun with it. Get a mat or a towel for your flat head.

-chris

[quote]FairDo wrote:
realpeanutbutter wrote:

you’ll like the head stand, plus it’s fun to balance.

cart wheels and bear crawls are good to.

-chris

well, I’ve just done head stand for exactly 2 min. it was not so bad as I though it would be.
it becomes somewhat tricky after 90 sec and I started to be aware of everything, my spine felt funny, thought that my head was getting flatter, too :wink:
shoulders feel pleasent as well

Good One!![/quote]

17

Check out The Warm-Up Manifesto, by T-Nation author John Paul Catanzaro

Links to Part 1, and Part 2

http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=804576
http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=805661

18

Here’s my general warm-up for a lower body day:

20 jumping jacks
2 sets pogo jumps for :10
4 Plane leg swings 10/10/10/10 reps
sky divers 12
hip pop ups 15
fwd arm circles 20
bckwrd arm circles 20
arm swings 30
prisonor squats 12
good mornings 12
fire hydrants 10
scorpians 20
1-L sldl 6/6
MB Swings 15

there’s alot more great stuff on the parisi warm-up method dvd.

19

[quote]realpeanutbutter wrote:
Now that you are a head stand break dancing master bring it up notch. Get a bike helmet or some kind of helmet and get your head stand on. then rotate yourself around in a circle. after a couple of those your shoulders will be warm as necessary.

Also try bringing your legs into splits. Side splits, front splits. have fun with it. Get a mat or a towel for your flat head.

-chris

[/quote]

Well, I’ll give these a pass !!

however, I used to do and sometimes give to others when we do body weight drills, lowering legs to touch the floor while doing head stand . . . good core exercise!

Now you try this one! :slight_smile: say, set of 10

20

That’s another great one. I/we call that a jack knife headstand or a upside down plange. I saw some hero do one on a yoga ball thingy. He brought his legs to horizontal, impressive.

-chris

[quote]FairDo wrote:
realpeanutbutter wrote:
Now that you are a head stand break dancing master bring it up notch. Get a bike helmet or some kind of helmet and get your head stand on. then rotate yourself around in a circle. after a couple of those your shoulders will be warm as necessary.

Also try bringing your legs into splits. Side splits, front splits. have fun with it. Get a mat or a towel for your flat head.

-chris

Well, I’ll give these a pass !!

however, I used to do and sometimes give to others when we do body weight drills, lowering legs to touch the floor while doing head stand . . . good core exercise!

Now you try this one! :slight_smile: say, set of 10[/quote]