The science behind the warmup

[daughterofgod1117]

@jesusloverr If I don't stretch my hips, my squat range of motion decreases by about 30% and I get pains

 

[jesusloverr]

@daughterofgod1117 I think I’d probably be similar, although haven’t ever bothered to measure the difference

 

[porcelainpetal]

@jesusloverr I [26M] have been working out since 8years consistently. Didn’t really warm up before and have to deal with some problems in my elbow joint for about a year now (elbow popping). I blame the not warming up, in hindsight that was really dumb.
I need to go to the doctor yes, I will do that. But I found out, that I can do a full push workout without problems (the popping) if I warmed up properly. So now I warm up always

 

[bnowacek]

@jesusloverr Absolutely no reason not to warm up with dynamic stretches, jump rope, jumping jacks, etc. for 5 minutes.

 

[dawn16]

@bnowacek But is there a reason to?

 

[bnowacek]

@dawn16 Well I can’t say for you. But personally I have much better performance, and less chance of injury when I warm up.

If I handstand without warming up, my wrists feel discomfort and I normally can’t get a great line on my handstand without stretching my shoulders a little bit. I also noticed that getting some blood in the abs helps me out overall before a workout.

Totally depends on you, but I think it is a bit silly to try to clown people who warm up. I saw the Instagram post, it was clowning people who warm up.

 

[dawn16]

@bnowacek Yeah I think it is probably a more individual thing.

I know whenever I tried a proper warmup I just lost performance on what I was trying to do.

Even as a kid my warmup for soccer was walking to the field. Never had an injury.

 

[bnowacek]

@dawn16 How long are you warming up? Also what level of intensity are you trying to perform at? I couldn’t imagine anyone trying to do planche, handstand, etc. without warming up a bit.

 

[dawn16]

@bnowacek Maybe about 1-2 minutes. My usual warmup is 5 prying goblet squats and 10 halos. If I don't feel good after that I'll usually add some very light one armed deadlifts or something more specific, but that is maybe once every 1-2 weeks.

Intensity? Probably 8-9 RPE on pull ups or pushups.

I haven't worked on planches for years. But I'll hop into my 5RM military press straight out of my above warmup if that gives you an idea.

But like I said, I've always been like this. "extensive" Warmups feel like they slow me down and dull the stretch reflex.

 

[bnowacek]

@dawn16 Oh so you do warmup

 

[dawn16]

@bnowacek

no reason not to warm up with dynamic stretches, jump rope, jumping jacks, etc. for 5 minutes.

Yeah, nothing like what you are describing though. I thought we were on the same page when you asked me how long I warm up. Increased heart rate is not conducive to strength in my experience.

If I'm doing pull ups or pushups, I don't (like in the video posted by OP). Especially if I'm doing GTG stuff like with grippers, yang planks, or pistol progressions. (I'm not going to warm up 8 times a day)

 

[mikejohn1]

@dawn16 Yes. Think of your muscles as a rubber band -- cold rubber bands are tougher, harder to stretch, and are more fragile; whereas when you have one that's warm, it stretches and moves easily. Your muscles are the same way and literally raising your body temp a couple degrees (breaking a light sweat) will help.

Joints (all and specifically shoulders, hips, etc) are complex and it's good to include specific warmups for these areas.

 

[johanmichel]

@dawn16 Besides the injury stuff you could look at warmup as a part of the workout: The exercises are different, sure, but that doesn't mean it's not a good part of a workout.

 

[gregoth]

@dawn16 Your body is a complex machine. It doesn’t flow blood to all areas of the body in a uniform fashion. Getting your body in the right state is going to have all of your joints and muscles ready to go and be supported with the proper nutrients, waste removal, and temperature regulation. As we age our body systems abilities to complete their task decrease. A little kid can snap to action and their body is ready to go very quickly. And older person, someone with medical issues or injuries may need more time to prepare itself. There is no one answer because we are all different. Some days I need to warm up to feel right for instance and some days I need to warm up.

 

[dawn16]

@gregoth

Some days I need to warm up to feel right for instance and some days I need to warm up.

I'm assuming you meant to say that some days you don't need to warm up.

And yeah, that is how I feel too. When I went to a manual labor job, I didn't warm up before starting. I just went to work. some of my workouts don't really require a warmup, especially bodyweight ones. If I'm lifting heavy, yeah I'll take a few warmup sets.

This whole idea that it is a requirement is kinda silly. Rule number one of your program design should be remove anything that doesn't move you towards your goals. If your warmup doesn't help you, you probably shouldn't bother with it.

 

[traditionalistthomas]

@jesusloverr All I need to tell you was that Mike Tyson in his prime would essentially wear himself out for ten minutes every match, go into the ring dripping wet with sweat, and dominate every cold corpse opponent he went up against. He knew the secret. Now so do you.

 

[dawn16]

@jesusloverr I usually just do some jumping Jack's and if I'm squatting or deadlifting I'll do some low weight sets before moving into my working sets to get my form right and posterior chain engaged.

 

[micaelasc]

@jesusloverr I run and play Ultimate frisbee and I never warm up. For context I’m 36 years old and remain relatively injury free. The main injuries I’ve had are in my feet and I’m not sure a warm up would have helped in that situation.

I don’t push my choices on anyone or mock their choice to warm up. I had actually read an article a long time ago that showed people who warm up consistently or don’t warm up consistently see similar numbers of injuries, while people who sometimes warmup see the most injuries.

 

[jesusloverr]

@micaelasc Someone else has mentioned that article in this thread actually. I’d love to get my hands on it.

 

[dawn16]

@jesusloverr My warmup has been about five goblet squats and 10halos for a loooong time. Sometimes I’ll throw in something specific if I’m feeling tight.

I’ve tried doing proper warmups and it just takes away energy from training.

But I’ve trained like this forever. I don’t think most people do.