Is jogging on a treadmill for 5-10 minutes enough for a warm-up? I mean, you’re physically getting warm and stuff, but is that good enough? Unfortunately, it’s not. Although literally making our bodies warm is part of a quality warm-up, it’s only one part. A good warm-up prepares us to handle the workout we’re about to go through. So, if we’re going to be squatting/deadlifting, doing push-ups, sled pushes, etc., our warm-up should get us prepared to do those exercises.

The warm-up is a great place to work on certain qualities and movements that we may not do every day. For example, during our warm-up our members will work on shoulder stability, crawling patterns, hip stability and mobility, core stability, coordination, squat technique, etc. They’ll not only be better prepared to tackle the workout at hand, but also their life as well.

To help give you an example of what a good warm-up looks like, let’s look at BSP NOVA’s current warm-up for our members.

 

1. 90/90 Wall Breathing x 5 breaths

• Laying on your back, place your feet on the wall with your knees and hips flexed at 90 degrees
• Gently pull your heels down into the wall to lift your hips an inch or so off the ground, then place one hand on your chest and one on your stomach
• Take a long and quiet inhale through your nose breathing in as much as possible, then exhale through your mouth as if you’re “fogging glass” until all your air is gone

 

2. Roll And Reach x 5/

• Lay on your back with your arms and legs spread out to 45 degrees from the body
• Pull your elbow into the floor as you reach across the body finishing with your joints stacked (elbow under shoulder)

 

3. Rib Grab T-Spine Rotation x 5 breaths/

• Lay on your side with your hips and knees flexed to 90 degrees
• Place the hand of your down-side arm on your top knee, and grab your ribs with the hand of the top-side arm
• Gently rotate your shoulder and head towards the floor as far as you can, then take 5 breaths trying to relax further into it with each breath
• Be mindful to not let your top knee separate from the bottom knee, and to keep your shoulder from shrugging as you rotate

 

4. Cat/Cow x 5

• Start on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and hips slightly in front of your knees
• Imagine your spine as a line of dominoes and slowly reverse the curve of your spine starting at the hips, moving to the lower back, middle of the back, upper back, and head

 

5. Quadruped Rocking x 6

• Start in an all fours position with your hands under your shoulders, knees wider than hips, and feet in
• Push your hips back going as far as you can without letting your spinal position change

 

6. Plank (w/ Shoulder Taps) x :20 sec

• Plank
  • Assume the same position as you would at the top of a push-up
  • Tilt your “belt buck to your chin” and actively reach through the floor with your arms
• Plank w/ shoulder taps
  • Start in a similar push-up position plank but place your hands closer in and feet wider to start
  • Slowly place your hand on your opposite shoulder as if placing a sticky note there, then switch arms
  • Be mindful that your hips don’t rotate side to side, but stay stable instead

 

7. Forward/Backward Baby/Leopard Crawl x 5 yd

• Baby Crawl
  • Starting in an all fours position with your toes digging into the floor, go slightly wider than hip width with your knees
  • Move your opposite arm and leg at the same time taking small steps (imagine you’re crawling on a tiny ladder)
• Leopard Crawl
  • Same set up as above, but elevate your knees about 1-2 inches off the ground

 

8. ½ Kneeling KB Plank x :30 sec/

• Assume a ½ kneeling position with your front foot directly ahead of you, your knee at 90 degrees, and the back toes digging into the floor
• Grab a 12 kg + kettlebell in the same side arm as the knee that’s down, then hold a tall and tight position as you breathe

 

9. Squat (Squat W/ Rotation And Extension) x 5/

• Squat
  • Feet will be roughly hip width to start with toes turned out, and arms reaching out
  • Go only as far as your hips allow without letting your lower back tuck under (butt wink)
• Squat W/ Rotation and Extension
  • With the same set up as above reach down and hook your hands under your toes, then pull yourself to the bottom of a squat with your arms inside your knees
  • Keeping one arm still rotate the other arm letting your eyes follow your hand, then do the other side
  • Finally, with the arms locked still, extend your hips as high as you can

 

10. 3 Way Reach W/ Miniband x 5/

• Place a miniband around your ankles with your feet about hip width, knees slightly bent, and hips reaching back slightly
• One full rep is done by reaching your leg forward, then back to the start position, out laterally, then back to the start position, backward, then back to the start position
• Be careful not to step forward each rep since you only want to reach out, not step and shift your weight

 

11. Cross Crawl x 10 yds

• Starting tall, take a step and connect your opposite elbow to your opposite knee
• Continue in this way alternating the arm and leg each time
• If you can’t make this connection then simply touch your forearm or wrist to your knee instead

 

Your Warm-Up Should Be Effective

There are less effective and more effective ways to warm-up for a successful training session. The above is an effective way to get you not only prepared to make the most out of your workout, but out of your life as well. Why the same warm-up each time? To quote Dan John, “If it’s important do it every day.” The above warm-up consists of things that, when done every day (or every workout in this case), can have a big impact.

So whether you’re a current member of BSP NOVA, a past member, or just perusing our blog (come onnnnn, take us up on that free week below), go do this warm-up every day for a month.  You’ll like the way you feel, we guarantee it…