Improper preparation for training sessions and competition is a common mistake in fitness. While it’s important to challenge your limits, we want to maximize those opportunities through specific preparation pieces on the front end of our training sessions. You cannot maximize your potential if your body isn't warmed up. Additionally, not warming up (or warming up incorrectly) can not only lead to injury, but can also decrease your training output.

So then why do many athletes skip their warm ups or cut them short? Hopefully by diving into the weeds of warming up, you'll understand the benefits far outweigh the consequences and start valuing your warm up.

What Makes A Good Warm up?

First, identifying the intent/purpose of the training session is necessary in choosing warm up movements/drills. A few things to think about are:

●      Getting the mind prepared and centered on the task ahead

●      Connecting the brain and body to the patterns that are going to be in the training session

●      Preparing the aerobic system (blood flow, heart, lungs, muscles) - increase your body temperature

●      Refining movement asymmetries and working on structural issues in a non-fatigued setting

●      Building muscle contraction volume with low level movements

Following these ideas consistently will improve your movement patterns, skills and capacity as well as reduce your risk of injury and speed up recovery so you can optimize every training session.

How To Warm Up Like A OPEX RC Games Athlete

Often you will find OPEX RC Games Athletes showing up roughly an hour prior to their training session's start time. Why? Because they are warming up! Here is what that looks like:

●      Mobility/Soft Tissue Work

○      10-15 mins

○      Foam rolling, lacrosse balling, barbell smashing

○      Improve flexibility of muscles and mobility of joints

●      Activate Major Joints and Muscle Groups

○      8-10 mins

○      Band flossing, movement with bands, light weight resistance, cable machine movements, hip flow, shoulder flows

○      Active or "fire" muscle groups and joints that are slow to turn on

●      Training-Specific Movements

○      Performing higher skilled/complex movements in the workout (i.e. snatches, clean, squat, chest to bar, double-unders)

○      Does not need to be every movement in the workout

○      Using an empty barbell, adding weight to "workout weight" or sometimes even past

○      Adjusting technique or movement during this portion of the warm up instead of during the workout itself

●      Prep Round

○      Similar to the workout itself, maybe at lighter weight, fewer reps or rounds

○      Increasing intensity to get heart rate up

Warming up can take your training to the next level. To see specific examples of some warm ups, head over to an old blog post here.

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