5 movements to include in your warm-up routine

To stretch or not to stretch, that is the question.

Sports scientists don’t make it easy for us, it seems every decade evidence comes out contradicting previous research. To simplify things I’ve put together the latest research on the effective types of warm up to incorporate into your training.

Years ago it was common practice to stretch as a part of a warm up. Recently however research has emerged that not only are some forms of stretching ineffective in reducing injury, they may actually increase an athlete’s chance of injury and decrease power and strength in that particular session.

So if some forms of stretching aren’t effective, then exactly what kinds of warm ups are ideal for preparing the body for an intense workout, and how long should you spend doing each type of movement before moving on to your actual trainig session? I’m going to be covering that in this blog.

What makes a “good” warm up?

Although the answer to this question will depend largely on who you are as an athlete, what you prefer, or how much time you have to dedicate to your training sessions, here are 5 types of warm-ups that are the most up-to-date and supported by the latest research:

1. Myofascial release

MFR refers to self-massaging of the soft tissue. Soft tissue refers to anything that isn’t bone tissue which includes muscle, tendons, ligaments, fascia, skin, peripheral nerves and fluid in your joints. 

Although there are still many gaps in research surrounding MFR, many experts still believe that doing so prior to a training session may help release tension. 

It was initially believed that MFR would break up adhesions in muscle tissue, but newer research has emerged that this may not be the case. Regardless of this, there could still be many benefits to beginning a training session this way.

Research shows that short bouts of foam rolling can help prepare you psychologically for training and incorporating it into your warm-ups can also help to:

• Decrease muscle soreness

• Decrease muscle spasms

• Improve range of moment around joints

• Speed up recovery of strained muscles

What kinds of MFR are there?

Below are just a few examples of MFR’s.

Foam roller: To date, this is the most used and researched form of MFR. These come in varying levels of density. If you’re starting out, you may want to purchase a softer roller and perhaps one without ridges, and over time advance to the denser variations.

Massage ball: These can either be softer tennis balls or for a firmer massage you can use a lacrosse ball.

This is my personal favourite because it means I can place it under my shoulder blade where I tend to experience the most tension. I also use it under my foot but there is no limit to where you can apply pressure. Besides using your own bodyweight to help you apply pressure you can roll the ball around various parts of your body to help release tension.

Peanut ball: These can be made with two massage balls either taped together or tied into an old sock with a knot in between. This may be more suitable when massaging your back, allowing more room for your spine to roll up and down between the two balls.

How long should you self-massage?

As with most things, it depends.

There is some evidence that suggests foam rolling lowers the sympathetic nerves increasing the parasympathetic nervous system, and since the very purpose of warming up is to do the exact opposite you may want to spend no longer than 60 seconds on only a few targeted areas.

Should you find foam rolling or other MFR strategies relaxing, it might be more helpful to do so at the end of the workout rather than the beginning so as to not dampen the nervous system right before a workout.

Besides self-massage at the end of the workout, you can also incorporate this into your daily routine outside of your training schedule like before bed or whilst watching TV.

2. Diaphragmatic breathing

Deep breathing as a way to activate the diaphragm and pelvic floor are two key elements to training that many athletes neglect. If you’re a masters athlete, especially one who’s been through childbirth I probably don’t have to tell you what the consequences are for neglecting said muscle groups.

If we think about the core as the bottom half of the trunk including the back, abs, sides (transversus abdominis and multifidus muscles) and the top (diaphragm) and bottom (pelvic floor), we can activate those muscle groups with focused breathing.

This may sound super hippie-dippie if you’re not into breath work, but practising diaphragmatic breathing has been shown to improve:

• Aerobic fitness

• Respiratory muscle length and strength

• Reduce sympathetic nervous system activity

• Reduce tension in neck and shoulders

• Improve oxygenation in the lungs allowing for more blood flow

Another advantage to diaphragmatic breathing is that it can be used as an anxiety management tool prior to a competition.

3. Cardio warm-ups

Now I’m an 80s child so I remember all those Jane Fonda and Denise Austin videos (which were pretty darn cool by the way) including variations of the high knee drive (exaggerated smiles and neon leggings optional).

 At one point it was almost a ‘must’ to include cardio prior to any kind of workout. These days, a low-intensity exercise involving the full body can certainly help in preparing the body for a more intense workout but it’s not necessary.

Should you decide that a cardio warm-up is something you want to implement into your warm-up routine, The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 5-10 minutes of low to moderate intensity and may include anything from bodyweight squats, walking or jogging, or any full body aerobic exercise.

There are of course many benefits to warming up with cardio that include, but are not limited to:

• Decrease parasympathetic activity

• Increases blood flow to muscles, heart and lungs

• Incrase core temperature,

• Increased oxygen consumption

4. Dynamic warm ups

This type of warm-up focuses directly on preparing the joints, muscles and nervous systems for more intense movements through mobility and muscle activation.

It was once believed that flexibility was important for reducing injuries, however while it may be beneficial to have a good range of motion, focusing too much on flexibility may not be all that helpful.

This however does not mean that static stretching does not have its place. Even though focus should be on increasing mobility, passive stretching can still temporarily offer support in the early stages as the muscles prepare for increasing its overall range of motion.

Mobility vs flexibility

Flexibility is passive range of motion whereas mobility is active range of motion. For example, physically lifting your leg up with your hands as high as you can in a standing position requires flexibility, whereas holding your leg in that same position without the support of your hands is mobility.

Research has suggested that static stretching as a part of a warm-up can decrease power and strength, so if you like relaxing and passive stretching, perhaps save that for after your strength training so you can get the most out of your session. (Simic et al 2012)

What are some ideal dynamic warm-ups?

Here are some great ideas you can start with …

Dead bug for core engagement and activation

Bear crawls: This is great for cross-body work as it uses both sides of the brain to help with coordination

Open book for shoulders and spine mobility and control

Reverse lunges for hip mobility and staiblity

5. Warm up sets

Warming up this way prior to a lifting set stimulates lubrication of the specific joints to be used for the exercise. It also adds volume to that pattern of movement without overloading the muscles.

Although there are no real hard and fast rules about how heavy or how many reps to lift for your warm up sets you can use these as a general guideline:

• Aim to rest 45-60 seconds in between warm up sets

• Aim to to use less than 50% of the weight (of intended working set not your one rep max) for your first warm up set at 10-12 reps.

• Aim for 65-70% for 5-8 reps on your second warm up set

• Aim for 75-80% at 2-5 reps on your third warm up set

You may or may not require a fourth warm up set, and most likely you’ll find it is unncessary if you are lifting anywhere in the 8 rep ranges or more, but again adding extra warm up sets is a personal choice and may even build confidence for heavier sets.

Takeaways

The 5 recommended movements that you may find beneficial to add to your warm up routine include:

• Myofascial release

• Diaphragmatic breathing

• Gentle cardio

• Dynamic warm ups

• Warm up sets

How long you deicde to spend on each type depends on your preference and how much time you have although it is likely you won’t need to spend more than a total of 20 minutes for the whole routine.

Static stretching may not be helpful prior to a workout, and when doing MFR you may want to limit it to no more than 60 seconds per targeted area.

As for warm up sets, heavier working sets may require more, but as a general guideline you will likely only need 3-4 sets to build up to your working set.

References

L Simic 1, N Sarabon, G Markovic.Does pre-exercise static stretching inhibit maximal muscular performance? A meta-analytical reviewScand J Med Sci Sports. 2013 Mar;23(2):131-48.

Katie Small 1, Lars Mc Naughton, Martyn Matthews. Res Sports Med. A systematic review into the efficacy of static stretching as part of a warm-up for the prevention of exercise-related injury. 2008;16(3):213-31.

Allison N Schroeder 1, Thomas M Best. Is self myofascial release an effective preexercise and recovery strategy? A literature review. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2015 May-Jun;14(3):200-8.

Andrew M Murray, Thomas W Jones 1, Cosmin Horobeanu 2, Anthony P Turner 3, John Sproule. Sixty seconds of foam rolling does not affect functional flexibility or change muscle temperature in adolescent athletes. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2016 Oct;11(5):765-76.

Scott W Cheatham 1, Morey J Kolber 2, Matt Cain 1, Matt Lee. The effects of self-myofascial release using a foam roll or roller massage on joint range of motion, muscle recovery, and performance: a systematic review. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2015 Nov;10(6):827-38.