By now, everyone should understand the importance of warming up before exercise. You might be doing a few stretches before your workout, or even spending a few minutes on the treadmill to get your heart rate up. However, these kinds of warm ups do not activate the muscles, are not motivating, and fail to prepare the mind.
We recommend performing one of our full body, active warm ups to boost motivation, stimulate the muscles, improve performance, and prevent injuries.
General Warm Up:
The first five minutes of your warm up should be devoted to increasing your heart rate, breathing rate, and mental stimulation. We typically achieve all three of these through partner drills, ladder drills, or playing a warm up coordination game.
Activation Warm Up:
For the next 5 to 10 minutes, focus on activating your muscles and preparing for the movements of your workout. Grab a medicine ball that is between 10-20lbs, or 10% of your bodyweight. This should not feel heavy for you, but should be enough of a resistance to stimulate the muscles.
Focus on performing these exercises with deliberate form and power. Perform 2-3 sets of 5 reps per exercise.