Gym Class Warm Up, Circa 1995:
“Ok Guys, we’re gonna warm up with some of these, some of those, a couple stretches and get the balls out and shoot some hoops”
That’s right a “warm up” used to be run a couple laps, then stretch and you were not impervious to injury.
I’m gonna lay some real sciency shit on you,
That’s Not Really How “Injury Prevention” Works.
In fact, that approach might actually be WORSE, than doing nothing.
But, as far as warmups go, the “sum a deese, sum a dats” approach is probably neutral at best.
Dynamic Warmups
By about 2002-03(ish) it pretty much industry standard that a “dynamic warmup”, one where you were do “dynamic”/ active moving, range of motion, mobility, muscle activation exercises was better than running a couple laps and stretching.
So the dynamic warmup became the rage.
And rec league soccer teams everywhere began doing leg swings, heel kicks and high knee drills all with an unstable pelvis. #itdoesntworklikethat #evenifyousawitinmenshealth
The Primary Goal Of the Warmup:
It’s pretty simple, the goal of a warmup is to prep the body for the regime of work that it is about to encounter.
The Secondary Goal of the Warmup:
The secondary goal of the warmup should be to bring up weak points.
“If Every Link In The Chain is 100lbs Except One That’s Only 50lbs, You Have a 50lbs Chain”- Louie Simmons.
Here’s the problem with warmups…
NO ONE DOES THEM
Here’s the fact(s) as I see them:
- Warmups are valuable and should be done
- Training is probably more valuable (in the bigger picture) and NEEDS to be done
- Proper warmups have an exponential additive effect to proper training
- Therefore, a proper warmup will lead to BETTER training.
- Which leads to a proper, effective warmup MUST be done to ensure the most effective training.
But as we know,
“Ain’t Nobody Got Time Fo’ Dat”
So we need to choose warmup drills that check lots of the needs off in one movement.
X Band Walks
These were uber popular back in the day, circa 2010.
X-Band Walks were everywhere, probably because the O.G. of “functional training” which doesn’t mean what you think it does, Mike Boyle, used to push em hard.
Here’s the thing with the X-Band Walk,
They aint right for you’re a below average in body awareness or you rush.
Do the X-Band Walk too fast?
Good luck not collapsing the ankle/ knee position and not allowing your knees forward.
Have trouble controlling the eccentrics or feeling your upper back position?
Your elbows are going to flare, and your feet are going to come together = worthless exercise.
The Greatness Of the X-Band Walk?
They Train the HELL out of your mid/ upper back around and between the scapula as well as your hip musculature, particularly the hip external rotators.
So of the things you can never have too much of,
The X-Band Walk trains 2 of the 3 things you, and everyone else needs more of.
In the words of Meatloaf,
“2 out of 3 ain’t bad”
Checklist:
- Setup is KEY. Set up wrong and you can’t save it.
- Feet: Shoulder width and facing straight ahead
- Active foot arch (rooted)
- Knees out/ Femurs externally rotated (never turn these off)
- Hands at the ribcage and palms facing each other
- Scapula FULLY packed (pinched together and pulled into the back pockets) the whole time.
- Hips hinged, shins as vertical as possible.
Bro Tips:
- Slow down and take your time.
- Take small, precise, steps. Think “2 inch step”.
- Belt line stays flat
- Think about trying to touch the elbows to each other in back.
- NEVER allow the stance to get any closer than start position (shoulder) width.
- Foot Pressure: 80% in the heels, 20% in the toes. NEVER PULL THE TOES UP.
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