Dynamic Warm-up Basics

Warming up prior to any activity is vital. It prepares your body for the activity you are about to do, it helps you perform better, and it reduces your chance of injury. Imagine a 100 meter sprinter at the Olympic Games not warming up prior to their race. How well do you think they would actually do?

But what is the most effective way to warm-up?

Simple. Perform a dynamic warm-up. It covers all the bases for what you need to do before any activity. Whether you are going to workout at the gym, or you are going to play a sport, doing your warm-up dynamically is going to prepare you the best. Another bonus, it can be done in as little as 10 minutes.

The concept of a dynamic warm-up is straightforward. You move your body while you stretch. What this accomplishes is by continuously moving during your warm-up, your body temperature stays up. By your body temperature being high, more blood flows to your muscles, thus making your muscles more elastic. It can get a lot more technical than that but why go there? Compare this type of stretch to the old-school method of sitting and holding your stretches. This really accomplishes nothing and may actually hinder your performance.

How to do a dynamic warm-up:

Step #1: Jog, skip, kick around a soccer ball, or shoot a basketball for 5-10 minutes. Do any activity that will elevate your heart rate and body temperature.

Step #2: Measure off a distance of 10 to 20 meters on a flat surface. This can either be on a gym or outside on a soft surface.

Step #3: Do 8-10 warm-up exercises continuously, going back and forth down the 10 to 20 meters that you measured. Do each exercise 1 to 2 times. If you are just beginning then walk back every second length in order to give your body a rest and let your heart rate come down. If you are more advanced then you can do the exercises continuously.

What are some exercises that can be done? Exercise videos areat the bottom of this post.

1. Walking Lunge
2. Hamstring Kicks
3. Karioca
4. Ankle Hops
5. "A" Skip
6. Frankenstein Walk
7. High Knee Run
8. Side (Lateral) Shuffle
9. Arm Circles (forward and backward) - jog while performing
10. Side Bends (overhead and side to side) - jog while performing
11. Head Bends (move side to side, up and down) - jog while performing
    

When doing the dynamic warm-up make sure to do exercises for both the upper and lower body. If you feel yourself getting short of breath, then stop immediately and give yourself a break. Take your time when first beginning and slowly try to reduce your breaks as you become more comfortable with the exercises.

I do not have videos for the last three but you probably have an idea of how to do them.