I know, we went over the whole warm-up thing in this blog Warm Up Warriors: Overboard or on Target so obviously people who read it, all both of them (thanks mom, grandma), were like, “Well Mr. Smarty Pants what should I do before I workout”?
Generally speaking, here’s what you should do:
SMR: Foam Rolling, Lacrosse ball work, The Stick, etc.
Stretch: Hip flexors, Glutes, Chest, Lats, Calves (especially for the ladies who wear heels)
Activate: Bridges, Knee Outs, TKE’s (yes, I know everyone hates these now. But guess what? Experience has told me these make my clients knees feel better…..so I do them with lots of clients), pull aparts, wall slides
Move: Side lunges, arm swings, split squats, deep squat.
In a perfect world in that order, but for anyone who’s ever been in a packed gym, we know that’s not always possible. When it’s not, just make sure you get the foam rolling in first and get the rest done in whatever order you need to get the work done.
Let’s face it if you have the typical desk jockey syndrome,doing some glute bridges or wall slides before you get a chance to stretch the hip flexors themselves isn’t going to end the world. It’ll be ok, they’re all still worth doing…….
So with that in mind here are my 11.
Why 11?
SMR- Self Myofascial Release (self massage)
Foam Roll:
Thoracic Extensions: Too much sitting closes the thoracic (think ribcage) spine down. These help “open” up the thoracic (chest) area. Let the ribs “pull themselves apart”..relax, let gravity do what it does. Just make sure you’re getting your extension from the thoracic spine and not the lumbar (low back) spine.
Lacrosse Ball:
Feet: The feet take a pounding. Think about how many people have the dreaded Plantar Fascitis .
Using a lacrosse ball to “release” this fascia tells the rest of the fascial net (which encompasses the body) to relax and almost always results in improved flexibility and mobility.
Static Stretches:
Hip Flexors: You sit too much, they’re tight, that’s just the way it is. Stretch em’.
Make sure you squeeze the ass cheek on the down knee. I know that’s funny right? “He said squeeze the ass cheek..tee hee”…do it, then laugh.
If it feels like the top part of the thigh where it crosses the hip is going to tear off the bone you’re doing it right.
Activation:
Glute Bridge with Band: We have to get better glute function. Too many people have a “sleepy ass“, time to wake it up! The butt has two functions.
1) Hip Extension: The pressing up part
2) External Rotation: Pushing the knees out (rotating the Femur)
Make sure you are constantly pressing the knees out against the band.
TKE’s- Terminal knee extensions: These get a really bad rap these days and I’m not sure why. I totally agree with the new(er) stance that these don’t do much for knee (patella) tracking and that the VMO isn’t all that important (or at least not as much as we thought a few years ago) for knee health.
That said, almost universally, when my clients do them they all say, “those make my knees feel better”. So ummmm, yeah, they make people feel better.
Why the hell wouldn’t I use them? Here’s a big clue (very scientific research be dammed) when a client IE a person who is PAYING YOU MONEY says,
“I like that”
“That makes my knees feel better”
“I want to do those knee thingy’s”
LET THEM DO THAT EXERCISE…..don’t be all like, “the science says” (which is usually the appropriate answer) and stuff. It takes 1 minute and virtually no energy and makes them feel better..It’s a no brainer.
Band Pull Aparts: Your scapula stability sucks, cause you sit hunched over all day with them pulled forward and rotated upward. This is bad. Getting some activation in the scapula stabilizers (rhomboids, lower traps) goes a long way toward helping correct this hunchback posture.
Quick Tip: Do these underhand and have a lower touch point on the chest (nipple line or just under) and you’ll probably get more lower trap function. I’ve found that people get a lower “Pinch” with their scapula this way, and personally I feel the lower traps more like this. BTW- I stole this from the awesome site Freak Strength (bottom video around 1:12).
X-Band Walk: Keep the tension constant. That means don’t let the feet get any closer together than shoulder width. This exercise isn’t about how big a step you take but maintaining the technique and “gliding” across the floor.
Keep the chest “BIG” by trying to touch the elbows together in the back….I know, you can’t physically do that. Just try.
Movement (Dynamic Warmup):
Cat Camel: Good place to start, after self massage (SMR), lets the spine get moving in an unloaded environment and teaches control of the lumbar and thoracic spine.
Thoracic Rotations: Thoracic mobility is HUGE…very few people have enough of it and this exercise actually does a great job of improving it. Plus clients, who generally don’t have the greatest body awareness, learn what it is to move through the “shoulders” (thoracic spine) and not the low back (lumbar spine).
Wall Squats: To squat properly you have to sit back, push the knees out, and arch through the chest.
Know what happens when you don’t break at the hips and sit back? You hit the wall
Know what happens when you look down? You hit the wall
Don’t push the knees out and move forward? You hit the wall
Not arched up hard enough? You hit the wall
Basically if you don’t have a good squat….YOU HIT THE WALL….and no one wants to do that.
Hip Hinge: Back Hurt? Yes?
You probably suck at this movement….seriously suck…most likely can’t even do it…that should tell you something.
Maybe the most important movement…looks easy but virtually everyone will screw it up at first. ……
We get too much movement from the lower back and need to re-learn (babies know it watch them pick something up) how to hing the hips and brace the abs to allow the glutes and hamstrings to actually do the work and keep the spine safe when we pick things up off the ground.
That’s what I think the 11 most universally useful warm up drills in my experience. Sure there are others that are waaay better overall, but know what the problem is with things like groiners are? Most of my clients can’t get into that position correctly and quite frankly probably never will, and that’s not a big deal.
Why waste their time and mine trying to get something that isn’t there? It’s a damn warm-up, stick with what’s easy. Get warm and ready to train, not frustrated and possibly in pain….
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