4 Steps to Warm Up to Improve Movement and Avoid Injuries

- Whether you are preparing for a pickleball match, strength training, or working in the garden, it is easy to consider warming up for a few minutes as an optional stretch before the "real" activity. However, warming up is not just about increasing flexibility; it prepares the muscles, joints, nervous system, and breathing for movements, their range, and the level of effort required. It also helps improve performance and prevent injuries.

People often resort to static stretching for long periods in preparation for movement. While it is beneficial for recovery and corrective exercises, it is not suitable for warming up and can negatively affect performance, especially when continued for 60 seconds or more.

As a movement coach in professional sports, I do not use stretching exercises that exceed 30 seconds in warm-ups. It is better to use dynamic stretching and movement exercises that move the joints within their active ranges and activate the muscles to support and control movement.

A longer warm-up does not mean it is better; a few well-thought-out minutes can be more effective than 30 minutes of unnecessary exercises. It should take about 6 to 16 minutes, depending on the activity and how you feel that day.

The goal is to feel warm, coordinated, and ready, not fatigued. The 4-step formula Note: Before starting this program or any new exercise program, consult your doctor or physical therapist. 1.

Breathing and using the foam roller (2 to 3 minutes) is a logical starting point for any warm-up, as it helps the diaphragm stabilize the body and maintain proper posture. Take a few deep, slow breaths, allowing the lower ribs to expand outward on the inhale, then move inward, backward, and downward on the exhale.

Combine controlled breathing with soft tissue preparation using a foam roller, focusing on areas where you feel tightness, such as the calf muscles, thighs, and glutes. A systematic review of 49 studies found that using a foam roller can reduce muscle stiffness and increase range of motion without negatively impacting performance, especially when combined with dynamic stretching and active warm-up.

Raise your body temperature (1 to 3 minutes) Perform easy, regular movements for a few minutes that elevate your heart rate and warm up your muscles, such as brisk walking, marching in place, or using a stationary bike. The goal is to warm up the body without exhausting it, as increased muscle temperature helps improve strength and the ability to produce it quickly.

Activate and engage your muscles (2 to 6 minutes) Perform dynamic movements that include squats, bends, pushes, pulls, rotations, and stabilization, along with balance exercises on one leg. Compound movements can combine several patterns together, so there is no need to perform nine separate exercises.

To perform the reverse lunge, stand with your feet hip-width apart and engage your core muscles. Then step back, landing on the ball of your foot as you lower yourself.

For example, the front or back lunge exercise combined with arm extensions overhead integrates the squat and push movements in the forward and backward movement plane. Adding a rotational movement to the airplane exercise or the Romanian deadlift (RDL), which is a lower body strengthening exercise targeting the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back, combines bending, rotating, and balancing movements within the forward and backward and rotational movement planes.

Add the pull-up or pulling movement with extension to the side lunge exercise, combining the activation of the lower body muscles with stabilization and pulling in the lateral movement plane. Adjust the exercises as needed, and only move within a range you can control.

Warming up is not the time to exceed your capacity. Gradually and comfortably increase your range of motion without pain as your body temperature rises.

Ensure that the intensity of the exercise is light enough to improve your movement quality, not hinder it. 4. Simulate what you will do later (1 to 5 minutes) here the warm-up becomes more specific to the activity you will perform.

Make the last minutes gradually mimic its movements: jog in place before running, use lighter weights before strength exercises, and add lateral and rotational movements before pickleball or tennis. The closer the warm-up gets to the speed, direction, and movement requirements of the activity, the smoother the transition to performance becomes.

Customize your warm-up to your needs; not all warm-up stages require the same duration. Heavy strength exercises require more time to simulate movements and gradually increase weights, while light functional fitness exercises need less time after mobility and activation exercises.

As you get used to this format, you can make the warm-up more effective by integrating most of the movements from the fourth step into the second and third steps. For example, before a long walk, you can lift your knees while walking, then activate and move your muscles with exercises like lunges while walking with arm extensions and rotations, lateral lunges, and going up and down stairs.

Regardless of the activity, the formula remains the same, but the focus varies. You prepare your body using the same four methods, integrating movements as much as possible to meet your needs for that day.