There are numerous reasons why you should do a PROPER warm up prior to any workout. But here are the top 2:
- Preps your body for optimal performance
- Helps prevent injuries
These are very compelling reasons to put some real effort into constructing an effective warm-up routine for each of your workouts. Let’s be honest; nobody is excited about warming up. It is often treated as an inconvenience, a waste of time, or even completely ignored by most.
After a PROPER warm up you should feel primed to do a full on, 100% workout. Priming your engine so to speak. What do I mean by a proper warm up? It's pretty much common sense folks. If you plan on smoking your legs that day, stretching out your shoulders isn’t much of a priority. Focus on the muscle groups you plan on training that day as well as the movements you plan on doing.
There is a simple acronym you can use when it comes to your warm up, and I have used it for years:
RAMP
R- Raise your body temp, heart rate and blood flow.
A- Activate specific muscle groups.
M- Mobilize joints.
P- Potentiate performance. Big word sorry. ☺ Potentiate means to increase the power, likelihood, or effect.
The bottom line is this…take the time (5 minutes) to do a PROPER warm up prior to every workout. I can tell you from personal experience that almost every injury I have sustained in the gym was a result from an improper warm up.
Author:
Joseph Teti | Founder of T1 Performance Nutrition