This blog post is all about how to warm up effectively for exercise. Whether you’re a runner, triathlete, crossfitter, tennis player, golfer… we have you covered.

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

It may be a cliché, but when it comes to injury and performance during exercise it couldn’t be more true. I have had countless injured clients come to clinic explaining how they “didn’t warm up properly due to time” insert other excuse here. You may be sat reading this thinking “I warm up every time I train so this doesn’t apply to me”. Well first of all, well done for actually prioritising it. But the biggest question is this:

Do you know how to warm up effectively for your specific sport?
We were taught from PE at school what I still see by countless exercisers: 5 minutes of cardio followed by some static stretching. Not only is this not specific to the sport you partake in, it can also be injury provoking. So, what’s the answer?

Mobilise & Activate

Mobilise

The aim is to improve the range of motion available in the joints and soft tissues that are in action with the type of movement you are about to perform. Let’s take squatting as an example here.

The key movers at play are the ankle and hip joints, therefore, you would want to spend some time dynamically mobilising these.

A knee-to-wall dynamic stretch to improve ankle dorsiflexion and a seated hip 90/90 movement to improve hip internal and external rotation, are 2 fantastic ways to achieve this.

Activate

The aim here is to switch on the muscles needed, and stabilise the areas in use, during the exercise that is about to commence.

Let’s use squatting again as an example. The quads, glutes and hamstrings are the prime movers of this movement pattern, and the hip joint is the area that needs most stability.

A single leg squat variation, such as the photo below, is a great way to get these areas fired up.

Conclusion

This simple rule can be applied to any sport you love to partake in. Your warm up doesn’t need to take any longer than 5 minutes, but the effects it can have on your performance is substantial.

Want to know how to warm up for your chosen sport? Comment below, I would be happy to offer advice.