THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION OF THE WARM­-UP

I’m sure many of you can vividly recall going through traditional calisthenics, or pre­sport stretching routines prescribed by previous coaches and physical education teachers. Do you remember the laps upon laps of light jogging, lots of slow static stretching, countless jumping jacks, and the other staples of the traditional warm­up?

It was probably evident to many of you that what you were doing at the time was a hand me­ down from the previous generation of coaches, physical educators, teachers, and professors, passing on routines and techniques provided to them by their past authority figures. Maybe your coach or teacher even told you a story of their experiences with some specific routine that was especially dear to them. This “traditional warm­up” philosophy has existed for decades, and I think very few have really questioned or even considered the possibility of re­evaluating and revising the way we perform a warm­up.

THE HISTORY OF THE WARM-UP

Historically, just moving around and improvising movement with no rhyme or reason has been culturally accepted and sufficient for most in preparing an athlete for competition or ensuring a client is ready to work out. I must admit that I, too, was guilty of this for a long period. Moreover, I do not fault the coaches and past educators who used this preparation strategy. They were doing the best they could at the time with the resources they had at hand. Things have evolved tenfold in the last several decades, and we have improved many of the ways we do things in training, The warm­up is definitely one of these things.

The warm­up has started to become more evidence­-based and studied in exercise science. Consequently, we have made big strides in this area and determined precisely how we should warm­up for increased productivity in training. The days of nonchalant, random, uncertain, slow, boring stretching, and excessive chit-chat are officially over. Through exercise science, you can come to appreciate that there is a best­ practice approach to warming up, and physically and mentally preparing the body to gain the most out of every workout. Before I go into further detail, I would first like to cover a standard set of phases to help define and serve as a basis for designing an effective and safe warm­up system. I will label these as the “5 Warm­-Up Phases” derived from industry research.

PHASE #: ­INHIBITION/FOAM ROLLING

Phase #1 will always be slow, involving stable and simple motions, at a lower intensity. Before a workout, the body is not ready to engage in strenuous physical activity or reach its peak yet obviously, and our sole focus should be on addressing more fundamental and often overlooked methods of the training process, which are integral to maximizing the more hyped and appealing techniques (speed, strength, power, etc.) to follow. In this segment of the workout, you will perform an activity referred to as foam rolling, also known as self-myofascial release. Foam rolling is a “cheap massage.” Massaging tissues helps decrease pain, reduce soreness, improve recovery time, increase metabolism, improve flexibility, hasten recovery from training, and increase performance slightly.

PHASE #2: LENGTHEN/ACTIVE FLEXIBILITY AND MOBILITY

In this phase, we begin to transition our exercise from low intensity to medium intensity, and the drills become more complicated and less stable as we progress through the series. We must capitalize on the gains made in the body during phase #1. What I mean here is that all of the areas we massaged previously are now ready to be stretched and maneuvered so that we can restore them to their normal, healthy length and improve function temporarily.

PHASE #3: ACTIVATE/MUSCLE ACTIVATION

I remember sitting in a cadaver anatomy course years ago and our instructor made mention of Muscle Activation Training (MAT), which was pioneered by a man by the name of Greg Roskopf. As far as I know, the NASM was the first fitness and training organization to promote MAT to the masses. With this method, we are basically “waking up” commonly weak muscle groups to ensure their participation in larger multi­-joint movement patterns that will occur afterward to raise performance and prevent injury.

Also, muscles and tissues have just been stretched and now is an ideal time to strengthen and contract target areas. I remember hearing world­-class performance coach Mark Verstegen state years back that you should “isolate before you integrate” movement. It made good sense at the time, although, you can never exclusively train a muscle or truly isolate it since other muscle groups must provide stability and support to joints during all motion. In his defense, however, the single joint exercises you will be performing in this phase are as close as it gets to true isolation work. Below is a short list of the essential benefits of MAT during your warm­up.

* Stretches dominant and overactive muscle groups

*Strengthens under­active and weak muscle groups

*Helps restore muscle balance and proper alignment to the body

* Assists in the reduction and prevention of various injuries types

* Educates or re-­educates muscle groups on how to move (intramuscular coordination)

PHASE #4: INTEGRATE/DYNAMIC MOVEMENT TRAINING

Here is where you start to elevate the intensity, speed, specificity, and complexity of your exercises. All of the fun stuff is just around the corner, so bear with me a little bit longer. At this stage in the warm­up, the body’s internal activity is beginning to take off as your body’s proprioceptive system, or muscle sensory system, is heightened and you become much more productive and able. Below is a list of the essential associated benefits of this phase.

* General and specific movement preparation and correction training

* Increases high-intensity energy production and metabolic rate

* Increases nervous system activation

* Increases the respiratory rate and oxygen consumption

* Lubricates synovial movement joints

* Increases psychological readiness and focus

* Increases dynamic flexibility

*Reduces injury risk

*Increases core and body temperature

*Substantially increases systemic circulation

PHASE #5: PLYOMETRIC TRAINING

This will be the last stage in the warm­up. Movements are going to be very fast, unstable, complex, and especially intense. Intensity, or level of effort, is a key element during the final stages of the warm­up and is a missing link in most people’s training philosophy. Consequently, without an emphasis on high-intensity work, performance will decrease proportionally. Here are some key benefits that accompany your final phase:

*Skyrockets nervous system activation and power output!

* Improves proper ground reaction/response of the foot and body

* Improves muscle’s stretch­-reflex or stretch-shortening cycle

* Improves rate of force production and muscle recruitment velocity

* Improves general work capacity and conditioning

*Maximizes calorie expenditure/fat loss

*Helps build strength and size