Upgrade Your Warmup To Train And Move Better

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mobility drills are important for indoor and outdoor training

Getting ready for your workout deserves as much thought and consideration as your training program itself.

Your movement quality should be THE most important area of consideration and concentration prior to each and every workout.

Trainees need to unhinge themselves off of the idea that doing a 5-10 minute “warm-up” on the treadmill or bike will prepare them for the demands of their workout.

Unfortunately, “Warm-Ups” such as these do little or nothing to adequately prepare trainees for their workouts unless your workout consists of playing video games, answering the door for fast food delivery or tapping away on your smart phone.

However, I trust that you have set the bar a little higher for yourself as it relates to your training program and your fitness and health goals.

Now, by all means, if you really enjoy walking the treadmill, using the stationary bike or melding with some other over-engineered device then have at it, but don’t assign a lot of training value to these machines and convince yourself these are ideal for preparing you for your workout.

I am not totally bashing the use of these devices, but I merely want to point out that what you like to do for a warmup and what is ideal and needed to properly warmup may be at odds with each other.

I used to follow this flawed protocol to warm up before a workout myself until I learned from world renowned coach Steve Maxwell that your body responds way better when you put it through mobility drills instead of the widely practiced routine of hitting the treadmill followed by static stretching.

Not only did I notice a marked improvement in my training performance, but I was now able to move my body in a full range of movement without tension and discomfort the way it was designed to operate.

Once I was able to achieve these tension-free movements, I was amazed at how my quality of life, mental well-being and disposition were instantly upgraded. It was truly as if I had started sipping from the fountain of youth.

An ideal Warm-Up program needs to incorporate mobility and a peppering of strength drills in order to address movement quality which is necessary for avoiding injury and putting the trainee in a position of success as they pursue their training goals.

You will essentially be preparing your body for the more dynamic training to follow enabling you to engage in a highly productive workout which will in turn accelerate your training results if you follow a safe, sustainable and challenging program.

So, how do we achieve this ideal warm-up?

Check out a starter sampling of movements below and feel free to include them into your warmup – your body just may thank you!

Please note I kept the demonstrations short in these videos since my intent is to show you how the movements are performed and not bore you to death watching me do rep after rep!

Who Benefits From Performing These Types Of Warmups And Mobility Drills?

The short answer is anybody & everybody who trains or would like to improve or maintain their movement quality.

This applies to Fitness Newbies, Athletes, Seasoned Fitness Enthusiasts, Weekend Warriors, and any other participant in the moving population covering all age groups.

This is especially true as we get older.

How Many Repetitions Should I Do?

A good rule of thumb is to do as many as needed to relieve any tension in the movement as I learned from mobility expert coach Steve Maxwell. This will be different for everybody, but you don’t need to turn your warmup into a marathon session of joint mobility.

Don’t go by a repetition scheme that someone writes down or posts to social media and blindly follow it.

And that goes for what I may post also as our ages, fitness levels, body mechanics, goals, genetics and daily pressures life imposes on all of us are all very different so consider any training program rules of thumb to adapt to your unique life situation

This isn’t an excuse for you not to do the work – it’s just a sustainable way to approach any fitness activity through the lens of being rational, productive and rewarding.

Your body will let you know how many repetitions are enough each training session as no two training sessions will ever be the same based on how your body feels on that particular day

For example, some days I feel like a robust, pain free highly energized Atlas and may only need to do under 10 reps of a chosen warmup drill.

Other days I may feel stiff, mentally in a fog or just flat out like crap and may have to do over 20 reps on some of these mobility drills in order to release tension and prepare me for the more intense training session to follow.

But that’s life. Training results do not constantly escalate so be prepared for those ebbs and flows on your way to a better quality of life.

Your training will go through some excellent sessions, some average sessions, some sub par sessions and even some days where it’s best to throw in the towel and just get some rest.

Don’t fight what your body is telling you, because trust me – it’s way smarter than we are!

So listen to your body and learn to adapt your activity to what it’s telling you it can handle on any particular day

How Often And How Long Should I Do These Mobility Drills?

You should be able to do a pre-training warmup with mobility drills in 10 minutes, but this is not a rigid rule. On my non-training days I may spend 15-20 minutes solely performing mobility drills as I consider them that important to practice and stay connected to. Do strive to do some mobility work every day for maximum benefit and transference to your quality of life and every day activities.

Goals Of The Warm-Up Include:

1. Loosen tight, over-active muscles

2. Strengthen weak, under-active muscles

3. Improve functional joint range of motion

4. Develop a functional dynamic warm-up that will prepare the trainee for more intense
exercise

5. Improve overall movement quality & motor control ( meaning our muscles fire
correctly without you having to think about it!)

6. To literally increase your body temperature or “warm up!” You should feel as if you did a
mini workout when performing the warm-up – so choose some challenging
movements and put some effort into it!

If you don’t move well during your training, there is a good chance that you will reinforce bad patterns into your movement system which can trigger a wide range of unwanted issues and problems including injury.

Some Other Benefits & Points To Consider:

Warm-ups are critical for optimum performance and becomes even more important as we age

Essential for reducing the risk of injury

You add significant fitness value to your training session as your warmup now generates a greater metabolic effect – burning more calories for your precious time invested.

Perform some mobility drills every day and don’t just utilize them prior to a training session.

Think of these movements as “oiling” the joints for smooth and pain free movement.

You don’t want to end up with the sad movement quality of the rusty and creaky Tin Woodsman which seems to be the new norm everybody seems disturbingly resigned to.

For those who have been around the block or have been rough on their bodies – the good news is that performing proper warm-ups, mobility drills, & paying attention to your movement detail will go a long way in rehabbing old injuries and preventing new ones.

Don’t hold your breath while performing these mobility drills – maintain controlled, rhythmic breathing throughout the movements

Perform movements in a smooth, comfortable fashion – avoid jerky movements

Include some mobility exercises as part of the “cool down” portion at the end of your workout too

Proper warm-ups utilizing full ranges of motion increases blood flow to muscles, breaks up calcium deposits that makes us stiff & allows Synovial Fluid to reach the joints to flush out waste and bring in nutrients.

Synovial Fluid only enters the joints via the performance of high repetition mobility exercises and also acts as a lubricant on the joint surfaces to help us move in an unrestricted, pain-free manner.

Now you know where the term “Move it or Lose it “ comes from!

So take the time to incorporate some thoughtful mobility drills into your training program in order to properly reinforce good movement quality, avoid injury, prepare for your workout & to put you in a position of success while pursuing your training goals!

I’m Mark Mellohusky(Mellow Husky)

An often barefoot eternal student of health and physical culture who will not go quietly into the sunset since I have learned how to age gracefully by adopting sane eating strategies, staying strong and lean, moving well and pain-free and conquering nasty fat.

All without spending hours haunting gyms doing hours of sappy low value media endorsed exercises or gulping down expensive questionable supplements.

I share my training and overall life quality metrics covering my ups, downs, what works, what doesn’t work, what I gravitate towards and what I tend to avoid.

If my methods and outlook resonates with you, take what I have learned and go improve your life

“There’s a Sparkle in my Eyes and Iron in my Thighs!”

I eat T-Bone Steaks, Lift Kettlebell Weights And Value Mobility

Powerful Thoughts For A Powerful Life

Seek respect only from those you respect.

There is no success substitute for the desire to self educate yourself and to learn from others with skills greater than your own

Never take those few, truly quality people around you for granted. Our tomorrows are not guaranteed, so show them how special they are to you now.

Empty wallets never stopped anyone from doing anything. Empty minds have, though!

Among the silliest people a lot of us will ever know are our younger selves.

Seven Stars Fitness