Never Waste Another Warm Up: Do THIS Instead (Phase / Part 1)
Based on what you can see at the foam rolling station and cardio deck at any major commercial gym, it’s clear that the average person (and many fitness professionals alike) have absolutely no idea how to prepare for training in the form of a dynamic warm up – this is especially visible now that most gyms are closed and individuals are left to fend for themselves. These same individuals end up doing a random “something”, and wonder why their performance plummets while chronic aches and pain become more prevalent.
I get it: we all aren’t exercise scientists. And the “something” method seemingly works OK for some people. But guess what? You don’t have to be a scientist to maximize your results in record time with your warm up. And you can—and should—set your sights higher than OK when it comes to enhancing performance and helping to prevent training related injuries.
Stop wasting away your precious training time on unproductive warm ups! There’s a right way to optimally prepare to train that will streamline your results while helping you bulletproof your body, and there’s the wrong way that will leave you bored, fatigued, or burned out before your training even starts.
Start your next workout with our highly effective and efficient six-phase warm up system. I know six phases seems like a lot, but you’ll be done in 10-12 minutes and ready to do your best work with the iron!
My challenge to you? Never waste another warm up again utilizing this simple, efficient and downright effective system.
Time to start treating your body like a finely-tuned machine and walk into every workout feeling and functioning your very best! This warm up involves six phases, but you can knock it out in the same 10 minutes you’ve been wasting on the treadmill or mindlessly running!
Phase 1: Target Soft Tissue Work
Not all foam rolling is equally effective, so if you plan on actually seeing objective benefits in your performance in the gym or training/performance, while also mitigating the risk of training-related injuries, choose the correct soft tissue technique for the goal at hand.
Focusing on problematic “trigger points” is the most effective foam rolling method I’ve used for my athletes and clients to open up their mobility potential, while also being able to more reliably transfer into the big movement patterns.
Instead of rolling across the entire muscle belly, back and forth like a sloppy pizza roller, hunt just until you discover a trigger point—aka, the area in your armpit, chest, quad, or other muscle that simply feels like shit. You’ll know it when you find it!
Fight the urge to foam roll your entire body and waste away precious training time by overdoing the first phase of this warm up. Instead, prioritize one area, and invest 1-2 minutes total with acute trigger-point work on the ball or roller and utilize the oscillatory technique that combines trigger point work with small micro movements of your body moving over the foam roller.
Remember, foam rolling isn’t the goal itself, but rather a means to an end. Avoid becoming Gumby before training. Instead, focus on alleviating pain, improving mobility, and moving the hell on to more meaningful work.
Come back next week for Phase 2!
Yours for greater strength,
– Peter (Head of Personal Training at ADAPT)
