Warming up before a workout is important for preparing your body for physical activity while reducing the risk of injury. Learn how to build an effective warm-up for any workout by incorporating a general warm-up, specific warm-up, and dynamic stretching.

Carly Fleischer, Moxie Barbell head coach, completing banded mobility in the gym — Warming up before a workout is an essential part of any exercise routine. It helps prepare your body for the physical demands of the workout, reduces the risk of injury, and improves your performance. But how do you know what movements you should perform to best prepare your body for the particular workout you’ll be completing?

There are two types of warm-ups: general and specific. A general warm-up is a low-intensity activity that increases your heart rate, breathing rate, and body temperature. This type of warm-up is usually done for 5-10 minutes and typically includes low intensity activities such as jogging, cycling, or jumping jacks. The goal of a general warm-up is to increase your body temperature and get your blood flowing to the muscles you will be using during your workout.

A specific warm-up, on the other hand, is an activity that mimics the movements you will be doing during your workout. This type of warm-up is usually done for 5-7 minutes with the goals of moving through the range of motion (ROM) you'll be training and to prime your central nervous system (CNS) for activity. The movements that you complete during the specific warm-up will depend on the primary movements of your workout. If you’re performing barbell back squats, for example, you might include bodyweight squats, lunges, and glute bridges in your specific warm-up.

In addition to a general and specific warm-up, incorporating dynamic stretching at the end of your warm-up routine can also be beneficial. Dynamic stretching involves moving through a range of motion while actively engaging the muscle. This can help to further prepare the muscles and joints for the workout, improve flexibility, and increase the range of motion.

The main goals of warming up are to increase body temperature, lubricate joints, move through the range of motion (ROM) you'll be training, and prime the central nervous system (CNS) for activity. To build an effective warm-up for your workout, follow these steps:

How to build an effective warm-up

1. Complete a 5-10 minute general warm-up

Select a low intensity cardiovascular activity that will raise your heart rate. This can include walking, a light jog, cycling, rowing, etc.

2. Complete a 3-5 minute specific warm-up

Select 3-5 exercises that mimic the movements that you’ll be doing during today’s workout. Here are a few examples of warm-up exercise selection:
- Squats: bodyweight squats, jump squats, goblet squats, lunges, glute bridges (i.e. movements that will target your quads, hamstrings, and glutes which are all used during the squat)
- Deadlifts: birddogs, good mornings, glute bridges, ring rows, romanian deadlifts (i.e. movements that will target your posterior chain which is taxed during a deadlift)
- Bench Press: push ups, Y-handcuffs, dumbbell bench press, cuban press (i.e. movements that will target your chest, back, and shoulders which are all recruited during a bench press)

3. FInish with 2-3 minutes of dynamic stretches

Select 1-2 dynamic stretches to help increase flexibility and ROM. This can include movements such as hip circles, leg swings, and arm circles

Warming up doesn’t have to be complicated or take a super long time. 10 minutes is plenty of time to build a pre-workout routine that will help prime you for a great workout while preventing injury.

Train With Moxie