How Should You Warm Up Before A Workout?

We all know that we should warm up properly before any exercise. But when you’re raring to get into the gym and start your workout, a warm-up can feel like an unnecessary preamble. 

It’s really easy to tell yourself that you’ll “warm up by doing some gentle cardio or lifts”, but the truth is a warm-up shouldn’t be an extension of your main workout activities. 

In this post, we’re going to explore the essential components for a warm-up, why it’s so important and what types of exercises you can include in your warm-up routine so that you are ready to exercise safely.

Why is it important to warm up before a workout?

There are three main reasons to warm up before you get into your main workout:

- A proper warm-up reduces the risk of injury.

- When you warm up properly, your results in the gym often improve.

- A good warm-up routine will mentally prepare you for exercising.

One study noted that using the right kind of warm-up routine – specifically one that is dynamic and designed for your sporting activities – can “significantly enhance athletic performance and reduce injury risk”. 

It makes sense that easing into exercise will be good for your muscles. We all know the stiff feeling when you’ve been sitting too long or haven’t stretched your body enough. 

A warm-up helps loosen up your muscles so that you’re not going from zero to 100 and potentially injuring yourself in the process.

What movements and exercises should a warm-up routine include?

A warm-up is designed to  get your body and your mind ready for exercise. So, there is no one-size-fits-all warm-up routine. Instead, you should tailor your warm-up to suit the exercises you’ll be undertaking.

That means you target the muscles and joints that will be working hardest during your session, while also doing enough that your whole body has started moving. 

However, there are some broad, key components that it’s worth including in any warm-up routine.

Dynamic stretching 

There is a great deal of evidence that incorporating dynamic stretching can benefit you both in terms of how you perform during your workout and by reducing the risk of injury while you’re exercising.

One study that focused on dynamic warm-ups for hamstring muscles found that dynamic stretching not only reduced the passive stiffness in this muscle, but also increased range of movement in the participants’ knees. 

In case you’re wondering, dynamic stretching means that you are stretching your muscles while moving, rather than holding a stretch in a fixed position (static stretching). This means your movements will likely be functional and target the muscle groups you’ll be working.

Hip circles, walking lunges and upper-body twists are all examples of dynamic stretches that you can include in a warm-up sequence. 

Balance exercises

Priming your body for a strong gym session means making sure that all of your muscles are switched on. Balance exercises help turn on all the stabilising muscles that support your bigger muscle groups. 

The good news is that you don’t need to do any extra balance exercises, as dynamic stretches like hip circles or leg swings can test your balance while also warming up your muscles.

Cardiovascular exercises

Adding a bit of cardio to your warm-up routine doesn’t have to be strenuous. It could be as simple as including some jumping jacks or burpees in your warm up to get your blood pumping. A gentle jog or high-knees running on the spot can also do the trick. 

The aim is to get your circulatory system to start working a bit harder, because this will increase blood flow to your muscles and allow them to take on more oxygen. That is important for performance during your workout. 

That said, you may find that your dynamic stretching also ticks this box. Cardiovascular-specific warm-ups are more important if you’re, for example, going for a run than if you’re hitting a strength training session.

Lighter load exercises

This is applicable if you’re about to get into a strength training workout. To help your body perform at its best, you want to prime the muscle groups you will be using during your workout. 

As a result, performing the same lifting exercises that you’ll be doing in your workout, but with a much lighter weight, can be beneficial and help you to maintain your form once you get into the tougher sets in your workout. 

If your workouts are often strength-based, we’d recommend having some 24kg adjustable dumbbells on hand, as this allows you to easily adjust the weight you’re using, starting light for your warm-up and scaling up from there. 

How long should a warm-up last?

This largely depends on the type of exercise you’ll be getting stuck into. But the general advice is for a warm-up to last between five and 15 minutes. The more vigorous your workout will be, the longer your warm-up should be to help your body prepare.

That said, for strength workouts you can incorporate additional warm-up sets into the workout itself. This will give you a chance to ensure your form is correct while warming up the muscles you’re about to workout with each specific exercise. 

Do you need any specialist kit for a warm-up?

For the most part, you can warm up using bodyweight exercises, which means you don’t need to invest in additional gym kit solely for your warm-ups. If you want to introduce lightly weighted exercises to your warm-up routine, adjustable dumbbell sets are a good choice. 

You may also find having a mat in your home gym for both your warm-ups and cool-downs can make it more comfortable, provide additional grip on the floor and give you a dedicated space that you focus on at the start and end of your time in your home gym.

Remember that your warm-up is also about mentally preparing for exercise, so having a dedicated corner of your home gym where you warm up can help prime your mind for exercise just as it can prime your muscles.