Just moving this into the performance training section.
Pay no attention to the pure-dedication.com logos, it's adarq.org now.
Simple Dynamic Warmup, Activation, & Cooldown
The information in this article is for educational purposes only. I do not advise or encourage anyone to attempt to apply the information in this article. Do so at your own risk.
This is a simple article that describes an example warmup, activation drills, and cooldown. Many athletes neglect warming up. Other athletes warmup, but do so only using jogging as an exercise. The warmup I describe in this article is utilized to increase blood flow to important muscle groups, improve joint mobility, and activate important muscle groups. Simply jogging until you break a sweat is better than no warm up at all, but to get the most out of the training session and prevent injury, a variety of exercises should be employed. Utilization of a proper cooldown is also very important. Certain muscle groups may become tight immediately following an intense training session, this is why it is wise to perform various mobility exercises and stretches to increase JOINT/MUSCLE range of motion. Adhering to these protocols will go a long way in improving one’s performance, health, and flexibility.
If you’re looking at all of the exercises and wondering: “Wow that looks like it’s going to take soooooo much time”; It isn’t. If you are pressed for time, feel free to skip the activation portion. This dynamic warmup can be done in about 5-8 minutes, the activation drills in another 5 minutes, and the cooldown in 10 minutes while drinking a post workout shake.
I perform variations of this warmup with all of the athletes I have trained. We perform the lower body warmup even on upper body weightlifting days. This acts as an effective abbreviated recovery session. We also perform the upper body mobility exercises for our lower body/speed/power days, this is obviously important because of the ballistic nature of arm swing during sprints, jumps, and other exercises.
To view an entire example of the dynamic warmup, activation, and cooldown; click on the video below:
SIMPLE DYNAMIC WARMUP WITH MOBILITY
Perform a light jog for approximately one to two minutes. Then perform exercises 2-7 up and back 10 yards while resting ~15 seconds between exercises. Exercises 2/2b and 3/3b are two different variations; you can choose on or the other, or both. Then perform exercises 8-18 for the reps specified, again take ~15 seconds between each exercise.
A key point on form for exercises 1-7, is to maintain a proper posture (not leaning back or rounding forward). It is also important to keep the ankle dorsiflexed (toes up) upon impact. Once the foot impacts in the dorsiflexed position, a greater contraction of the calfs will result. It is good to reinforce this motor pattern during every warmup.
1. Jog
2. High knees : NORMAL
2b. High knees : POWER
3. Bicycle : SPRINT
3b. Bicycle : POWER WALK
4. Power skip
5. Side shuffle
7. Carioca
8. Hamstring kicks : up and back ten yards
9. Lateral leg swings : 5-8 reps
10. External hip circles : 5-8 reps
11. Internal hip circles : 5-8 reps
12. Supine scorpion : 5-8 reps
13. Prone scorpion : 5-8 reps
14. Twist : 8-10 reps each side
15. Bent twist : 8-10 reps each side
16. Forward arm circles : 10 reps
17. Backward arm circles : 10 reps
18. Hug open up : 10 reps
OPTIONAL ACTIVATION
This is an example activation section. Activation depends on the sport/event that is to be performed, so this is just a general example geared towards sprinting and jumping. Additional activiation exercises can be put into this section that are specific to correcting the athletes weaknesses. No exercise in this section should be performed at all-out intensity, instead it should be performed relaxed. Glute bridges should be done by activating the lower abs and extending with the glute. Primetime sprints are a very good way to target the glutes and hamstrings, they should be done stiff legged with ankle dorsiflexed upon impact (toes up), again with activation of the lower abs.
Exercise 7 - (example shoulder exercises) is simply an example of upper body session-specific activation exercises. It is often a good idea to try and activate further the posterior musculature of the upper back and shoulders. These muscles are very important at stabilizing the upper arm and scapulae, especially during movements such as bench pressing and overhead lifts.
1. Double leg glute bridge x 10
2. Single leg glute bridge x 5 each
3. Rebounding tuck jumps x 3
4. Light stiff leg ankle hops x 3
5. Light primetime sprint
7. Example shoulder exercises, pre-upper body liting
Exercises 1-2 are to be held for a few seconds in a deep position. Exercises 2-18 (not including 14) can be held staticly for 30 seconds. Contrary to the "anti static stretching crowd", I have personally found no negative influence on performance if it is done after a session. In fact, it will help relax the muscles and restore them to a more normal resting length. Other effective stretching techniques include PNF and AIS. Foam rolling can also be done in this section. The overall goal of this section is to relax, restore, and reduce the risk for trigger point compensations from the intense session.
1. Deep lunge walk up and back
2. Lateral lunge walk up and back
4. Lying hamstring, off leg bent
5. Lying hamstring, off leg straight
7. Standing adductor and hamstring - middle
8. Standing adductor and hamstring - left
8b. Standing adductor and hamstring - right
10. Posterior delt stretch
11. Wrist external rotators
16. Standing hamstring
17. <NOT IN VIDEO> LAT stretch
CLOSING
The more often you warmup and cooldown correctly, the better your session will be. Also, the risk of injury is reduced and you will feel healthier overall. Pretty much all of us are guilty of half-assing warmups at times, but it's in our best interest to warmup and cooldown properly. It becomes so much easier as you gain experience warming up and cooling down in this manner. This experience also allows you to effectively modify the routine to meet your specific needs - some of this warmup can be abbreviated.
