Often overlooked or at best glanced over by most lifters, the warm-up is vitally important to not just injury prevention, but also performance, gauging progress, assessing tight or injured areas, quick blood flow/cardio method . The method I use is thorough and specific. Lets assume its shoulder day.
I. The full-body warm up- this gets the overall temperature up which lubricates joints, opens vessels and gets the body primed. I perform a series of jumping jack like drills I got from Parisi Speed school because of the brevity and effectiveness. My clients can do them in their sleep. A treadmill or elliptical will also work with emphasis on the arm movement since its shoulder day. 3 minutes would do it.
II. The antagonist warm-up: The antagonist is the muscles that directly opposes the muscle being worked, or basically the opposite movement of what is being worked. The purpose here is to warm up the entire joint complex and all muscles surrounding it also to get blood flow to the entire joint area(s) being worked.
Since shoulder day consists of moving arms vertically upward during resistance, the antagonist warm-up is moving arms downward against resistance.
Rep range- for the antagonist 20-40 reps easy all the way through the last one.
Exercise: Antagonist exercise
chest press rows
shoulder press pulldowns (cable or machine)
pullups shoulder press
leg extensions leg curls
tricep exercise curls
crunches/ raises hyperextensions
III. Rotator cuff (pushing day) warmup- Inner and outer rotations with extremely light cable or resistance bands.
IV. The specific warm-up
Rep range of motion- starting with 20-30% of actual weight, start in what I call "pain and pop free reps". That means that the motion is performed in a range of motion where there is the minimum amount of pain or popping of joints, this could be a 3 inch range of motion. After 5 or 10 reps increase the range, repeat until full range of motion is achieved.
rep range- a minimum of 20 reps, the main rule is that the last rep be easy, it is just a warm-up. The minimum is 20 reps, with the goal of reaching 50-100 with the last rep being easy. For instance, on chest day if the first exercise is dumbell incline press and the max weight being lifted is 100 pounds, then 30 pounders for 20-60 repetitions The second set would be 50-60% of maximum weight, for 10-30 reps. Getting 20-30 reps with this percentage of weight is challenging to say the least, so it is important to remember that this is a warm up, so the last rep should always be easy. If you start at ten reps, try to add a rep every week or two, eventually your warm-ups will be impressive in themselves. One of my favorite things to to do in the gym is getting under 135 on the incline and knocking out 70 quick reps. A bonus is that this works the slow twitch fibers that are in every muscle, will help muscular endurance and deliver a pump thats mandatory to start the heavy workout ahead.
Gauging your progress and even how you feel that day is done during warm ups also. For a myriad of reasons you might not be at full strength, have a pinch or ache in the joint, or you might be feeling extra strong. In any case adjust your workout accordingly and take notes. Why did your shoulder have that twinge? Why was your endurance down? Why are feeling like you can lift the whole gym today? Take notes to avoid the bad and promote the good.
