Although it’s often neglected, the warm up is a quick and easy safeguard from any injury. The perfect warmup has five elements that are essential to maximize the benefits from a workout.
MOBILITY
Dynamic mobility is the body’s ability to move in multiple directions safely. Think of “mobility” as a combination between flexibility and strength. Dynamic mobility gently increases your range of motion, thus preventing
MOVEMENT
Think of this like turning on your car before heading out for a drive. You need to turn on the parts of your brain that control the motions you’ll be doing in your workout. Why warm up with squats if you’re bench-pressing? Doing some pushups is a better alternative, plus they’ll give you a little volume to stimulate muscle growth as well as strength increase.
PLIABILITY
Warmups increase blood flow, raise core temperature, and improve the pliability of muscles. The more pliable the muscle, the less likely for strain.
AWARENESS
Running through a warmup allows the body to adapt to specific movement patterns and minimize muscular imbalances.
JOINT INTEGRITY
In order to keep the joints healthy, your muscles need to be reminded that the ligaments and tendons they work with are elastic, and they won’t tear as long as form is good and the weight is appropriately heavy (or light) for the exercise being performed.
