Why Warm Up?

The warm up is a great bridge from a previous task or from rest into exercise. Before we exert ourselves we need to make sure that our bodies are ready for that exertion in order to prevent potential injury and also to improve performance on the task at hand. They are also a great opportunity to work on technique and mobility.

The Basic Logic Of Designing Good Warm Ups

The logic behind designing a warm up is relatively simple, we look at the session the individual is about to perform and warm up for the first few exercises in the session, while also adding an addition core or movement exercise. I typically perform three exercises when warming up to prevent them from taking too much time. This means that if an individual is about to perform a training session where the first two exercises are the squat and the horizontal pull, the warm up would consist of a squat warm up exercise, a horizontal pull warm up, and a core or movement exercise.

Why Warm Ups Need To Match Individual Needs

The warm up not only needs to match the exercise that is about to be performed, but also the individual who is about to perform them. This means that an advanced individual would typically use a more challenging warm up than a beginner. This doesn’t mean that advanced people are performing a “hard” warm up, it just means they have reached a point in their training where they find exercises easy that others may find hard (pull ups, press ups etc). If you give an advanced warm up to a beginner they may not be able to perform the exercise prescribed and even if they can, it will be far too challenging for a warm up. If you give a beginner warm up to individuals who are advanced, a lot of the time it will be so easy that it will not warm them up at all. This means that programming correct warm ups is important and it should be based on individual needs.

All Beginners Are Different

The term beginner is a very broad term, a beginner could be someone who can perform 10 press ups without question and it can also be someone who cannot perform a top of press up hold. This article is written for those who need very easy warm up variations as they have not been able to find exercises that are appropriate. If these are too easy for you, please feel free to take a look through our warm up exercise library and find the exercises that match your specific needs. To be clear, these are not warm up exercises for cardiovascular outputs but for resistance training.

How Hard Should Warm Ups Be?

A warm up is called a warm up for a reason, it is taking the time to get your body ready to perform working sets, meaning it is not a very challenging part of the session. Warm ups should be between easy and work, meaning they are challenging enough to play their role (warm up and prepare the body) but by no means are working sets. As you progress through your training journey, your warm ups can become more and more challenging.

My 7 Go To Warm Up Exercises for Beginners