Gym fitness warm-up steps

Don’t bang on the iron as soon as you enter the gym. The core logic of a complete warm-up is actually three links: "general activation → site pre-stimulation → special adaptation". The total time is enough to control it within 8-15 minutes. If it is too much, it will waste physical energy and less easily cause injuries. This is the consensus that I have experienced countless pitfalls in training for 5 years and talked with three coaches with different backgrounds. If you are in a hurry or the training intensity of the day is low, you can even combine the first two links, so you don’t have to get stuck in the process at all. The one that suits you is the right one.

Let’s talk about the opening session that everyone is most familiar with. Some people think that you must get on the treadmill/elliptical machine for 5 minutes to warm up your body temperature before it can be considered a warm-up. Another group of old strength training experts especially sneer at it - in the summer, I am already sweating after walking outside, so why run? In fact, there is nothing wrong with both of these statements. Depending on the scenario: the heating is not turned on in the gym in winter, you have just come in from the sub-zero outdoor weather, or you have to lift a heavy weight that day, then it is best to walk slowly for 3-5 minutes to let the blood circulate throughout the body, otherwise the muscles will be as hard as frozen rubber bands and will break as soon as you pull them. ； If the temperature itself is high and you are already hot when you enter the gym, you can skip this step and start moving directly.

In the past, many people liked to roll the foam roller first when warming up, which was also a controversial point. Research in the field of exercise physiology shows that foam rolling during the warm-up phase will temporarily reduce muscle tension. If you have to press the maximum weight that day, it will indeed affect your force production. ； But if the corresponding part is very sore after training the day before, or if you have muscle tension problems - such as tight hamstrings for people who sit for a long time, or tight chest muscles for people with round shoulders, rolling the corresponding part for 1-2 minutes can actually avoid compensation during training. Before I do leg training, if I am still sore from squatting the day before, I will roll my quads for 1 minute, otherwise I will always feel nervous when I reach the end of the squat. After rolling, do a few dynamic stretches, such as walking lunges, circling your arms forward and backward, turning your body and touching your feet. Don't do static stretches like stretching your legs for 30 seconds. It has long been proven that it will reduce muscle explosiveness. Just leave it until after training.

After a general warm-up, you have to focus on the parts you want to train today. Don’t think that you can finish it just by swinging the empty bar twice. Last year, I saw a buddy practice bench pressing. After 10 presses on the empty bar, he reached 70kg. When the third shoulder clicked, everyone in the free weight area looked back. It took half a month to wait before daring to press again. The essence is that the rotator cuff and target muscle groups are not activated, and it is all carried by the joints. For example, for chest training today, you first take a 2.5kg elastic band and do two sets of 15 reps of shoulder joint external rotation, and then take the lightest dumbbell and do two sets of 12 reps of seated chest clamping. Feel the contraction of the chest muscles, which is much more effective than 20 empty bar presses. ； For leg training, first do two sets of bodyweight box squats, 10 times each, to feel the linkage of your hips, knees, and ankles. Don’t make your knees snap in the middle of the squat. I always forgot to activate my core and erector spinae muscles during deadlifts. Once when I pulled 140kg, my waist slipped and I lay down for 3 days. Later, I would do 3 sets of bird dog poses before every back training or pulling, 10 times per set on each side, and my waist never had any problems again.

This last step depends entirely on your training plan for the day and is not required. If you just do a low-intensity circuit training today, or take a group class with the coach, just go straight to the main event after completing the first two steps. ； But if you want to hit the heavy weight limit today, such as PR (personal record) on the bench press, you have to add a few progressive warm-up sets: For example, if you want to hit 100kg, do 8 reps of 60kg, 5 reps of 80kg, 2 reps of 90kg, 1 rep of 95kg, rest for 2 minutes before sprinting, don't jump directly from the empty bar to 100kg, it is just looking for injury. If you are a novice and have not yet reached the stage of weight training, you can just skip this step. Don't blindly imitate the procedures of veterans, which will only waste all your strength.

Oh, by the way, there is another pitfall that many people easily fall into: don’t tire yourself out by warming up. I once saw a girl who ran on the treadmill for 20 minutes as a warm-up. She was so out of breath that it was difficult to speak. Then she did exercises for her butt and legs. She was shaking badly after doing two sets in each group. It was completely putting the cart before the horse. The core of the warm-up is to "wake up" the body. It does not require you to build up all your strength first. It should be controlled within 15 minutes. It is most suitable when the body is slightly warm, there is no soreness and swelling, and it is just in a state where you can exert your full strength.