How To Warm Up For Strength Training
In Strength Revolution we have a simple and effective way of warming up prior to training. You should never skip your warm up as it is a highly effective method of injury prevention.
You are going to warm up by doing the prescribed exercise at lighter weights, that will get progressively heavier until you reach your working weight for that day's session.
If you are barbell training, start with the empty bar and perform the exercise. Then begin adding weights according to the percentage of your working weight for that day. The percentage system we use is.
warming up
If you are barbell training, start with the empty bar for 1-2 set of 5 reps. For squats start with the bodyweight stretch and shoulder stretches if you need them.
Warm up 1: 50% x 5 reps.
Warm up 2: 70% x 3-4 reps.
Warm up 3: 80% x 1 rep.
Warm up 4: 90% x 1 rep. Then rest 2 or more mins as needed and you are ready to do your sets for the day at working weight.
If your workout is Squat followed by lunges, just warm up with the squat. Then you can go straight to leg lunges as you have already warmed your legs. If you were to go from squat to bicep curls, or squat to shoulder press, then you would use the same protocol to warm up that new body part.
Contraindications:
Stretching. This is very common in gyms mainly due to out of date coaching practices and simply because people feel they should be doing it. The latest research informs us that stretching prior to weightlifting is advised against because it can have an analgesic effect on muscles which could contribute to a potential injury. Also the range of motion in each lift is designed to work the normal movement pattern anyway. This means that additional stretching is not required unless we are working on a poor flexibility issue with you. For those that enjoy Yoga, Tai Chi etc, this is absolutely fine to continue these practices, however it is recommended to keep them separated by several hours at least from your resistance training.
Cardio. If the gym you are training in is particularly cold, you can use a machine such as a rower, bike or cross-trainer for 2-5 minutes to warm your body up. Most facilities are adequately temperature controlled so you can skip lengthy pre-workout cardio sessions and go straight to the warm up protocol described above. Cardio also trains a different energy system in the body to the one that is used by resistance training. From my experience, it's best to train these systems separately. I advise cardio workouts or classes are kept separate from your weight training. You can do them on the same day. Ideally, you lift first, then allow several hours before doing cardio.