Quick Dynamic Warm Up

Quick Dynamic Warm Up:

A good warmup is the key to a good practice, it will send blood from your organs into your muscles, warming and oxygenating them. A good warmup will also get your mind focused on physical tasks and begin the process of connecting your mind to your body. Depending on your unique needs, different warmup exercises may be more appropriate for you than others. Always consider your areas of inflexibility and start slowly by working into the resistance, try to make small gains in range of motion as you perform each repetition. Your warmup may also be partly dictated by the types of exercises you plan on performing for maximal efficiency and safety. Try to include every joint as you warm up, your shoulders and hips can benefit from moving in various directions, as they are what we call multi-axial.

Your warmup is an opportunity to develop good breathing patterns too, further connecting your mind to your body. Get the full benefit by being in the moment and not just going through the motions. If you plan on training swings, cleans or snatches, make sure you spend some time lengthening your hip flexors through dynamic range of motion (DROM). The hip flexors are the brake for these movements and when lacking flexibility will serve to diminish your lifting capacity. If you plan on lifting overhead, use DROM to open your lats and shoulders. This isn’t just a matter of releasing the brakes but also for the safety of your back. Tight lats and shoulders can prevent your arm from going directly overhead, often causing an unsafe arching of the back to get the weight overhead.

Wherever your specific areas of inflexibility are, endeavor to release and open those muscles using DROM before you train. Learn to listen to your body and watch your posture as you exercise to get an idea of what areas need the most attention. Many people think that they cannot touch their toes because they have tight hamstrings, little do they realize it is their tight back that is stuck in extension that won’t allow the desired range. It’s important that you don’t jump to conclusions but instead observe and listen to your body with every step, bend, lunge, push and pull that you perform. Stretching will have an impact on your flexibility, but not as much as DROM exercise. I recommend only using stretching after your practice.

Thanks for reading and enjoy this quick dynamic warm up!

Peter Hirsh