You’ve made it to the gym or your home workout setup. You’re fuelled and ready to lift. You’ve even scheduled in time to cool down after the session, so you pick up a pair of dumbbells and get cracking. 

The first set feels a bit tough; you’re not able to move up a weight. Does your shoulder hurt a bit? Is that a little niggle in your hamstring? All of those things could have been avoided if you’d warmed up before your strength session.

We all know it’s really important to warm up before a run; fail to get a bit of dynamic stretching or walking done before you break into a jog and you run the risk of picking up injuries fairly quickly. But when it comes to slower, more static weight training, many of us are guilty of cutting straight to the chase. And that means that you’re cheating yourself out of being able to move better, lift heavier and recover faster. 

Get the heart working

PT Tess Gynne-Jones tells Strong Women that she tends to warm-up with a “five minute heart opener”. “ It’s not essential, but if you’re doing heavy lifting or finishing your session with some kind of conditioning, it’s a good thing to do because it preps your body for high heart rate.” That might mean spending five minutes on a rowing machine or treadmill.

Choose lower-intensity versions of the exercises you’ll be doing in the workout

“If I have a lower body session planned, I will always have a lunge in my warm up. It’s just a great way for mobilising and stabilising the ankle and hip and getting those targeted muscles to wake up,” she explains. 

“For upper body stuff, I do a couple of reps of shoulder taps and different press up variations to get my joints ready for the movement.”

Concentrate on your breathing and mobility

“Start with breathing to switch your mind set and your body to what we’re about to do,” recommends trainer Caroline Bragg.  

“Then move onto mobility work including cat cow, downward dog flows, lunges and glute bridges.”

“When you’re stretching something, you’re lengthening. When you’re mobilising an area, you’re priming the body to do what it needs to do,” says Bragg. In other words, you’re better off moving dynamically than trying static stretches. Think 90/90 and inchworm roll downs over a standing hamstring stretch.

Gynne-Jones explains: “Stretching switches your muscles off, and when you’re lifting heavy weights, you want them to be activated.”

However, she stresses that it all depends on the individual. “If you’re naturally really tight, then doing a bit of a stretch might help you get into positions better. I tend to say avoid stretching before you train – if you want a bit of a stretch, wait until the end and go for it. 

“You’re better off choosing functional movements such as lunges and body weight squats, toe taps and shoulder taps.”

Injury prevention

Going into any kind of workout cold isn’t a great idea. Glynne-Jones says that if the relevant body parts aren’t ready to work hard, the body will compromise and look to find strength elsewhere – which is a recipe for injury.

“That’s why it’s important to replicate the movements you’re going to be doing in your session as much as possible in your warm up.  If you’ve got heavy lunges in your program, for example, get your body used to the movement using bodyweight so that when you come to put those quads and hamstrings under load, they’re prepared for it.”

Better range of motion

For Bragg, it’s also about being able to perform at your best – and that means moving through your full range of motion and squeezing the most out of every exercise. 

“If you don’t move well enough and then start loading the muscles, you can start getting injuries and problems. Focus on the hips, shoulders and the back – and the bits that you’re going to need to lift – and make sure that they are mobile.”

Images: Getty