Video Series: Warm Up Exercises
Warming-up the body before initiating a training session with stabilization drills and exercises can aid in activating the body’s nervous system, by enhancing the communication between your brain and muscles. This heightened neural activation improves the coordination, speed, and accuracy of muscle contractions, leading to more efficient and effective movements during weightlifting.
Warming up the body can also reduce the risk of muscle strains, joint sprains, and other potential injuries. By priming your nervous system through warm-ups and stabilization drills, you can optimize your weightlifting technique and maximize the recruitment of muscle fibers.
The following exercises are example warm-ups and stabilization exercises to try at home or in the gym.
In this series:
Suitcase Deadlift & Suitcase Carry
- Begin by standing in a staggered stance. Make sure to have 90% of your weight on your forward leg, and 10% on your back leg, aka the “kickstand”.
- Slowly begin to perform a Romanian Deadlift (RDL) by having a slight bend in your knees and leaning forwards hinging at your hips.
- Make sure you keep your core engaged and maintain a neutral spine while performing this exercise.
- Slowly come back up and repeat 8-10 times before switching sides.
Note: This is a great regression exercise to the Single Leg RDL. It also allows people to focus on lifting heavier weights during a Single Leg RDL and focus on strength gains.
Good Morning Exercise with Kettlebell and Foam Roller Variations
- Stand up straight with your feet shoulder width apart. Grab a Kettlebell or Foam Roller and hold it close to your chest.
- Begin the exercise by leaning forward hinging at your hips. Push your butt out and maintain a slight bend in your knees.
- Make sure you keep your core engaged and maintain a neutral spine, while performing this exercise.
- Go down no more than parallel to the ground. Hold for 3-5 seconds for a strength exercise, and 30 seconds for a stretch exercise.
- Repeat 5-10 times for a dynamic warm-up or hold for 30-120 seconds for a gravity stretch exercise.
Note: This is a great exercise for strengthening the hamstring, back, & glutes. It also makes for a great stretch as well.
Split Stance Romanian Deadlift (Single Leg RDL Regression)
- Begin by standing in a staggered stance. Make sure to have 90% of your weight on your forward leg, and 10% on your back leg, aka the “kickstand”.
- Slowly begin to perform a Romanian Deadlift (RDL) by having a slight bend in your knees and leaning forwards hinging at your hips.
- Make sure you keep your core engaged and maintain a neutral spine while performing this exercise.
- Slowly come back up and repeat 8-10 times before switching sides.
Note: This is a great regression exercise to the Single Leg RDL. It also allows people to focus on lifting heavier weights during a Single Leg RDL and focus on strength gains.
Banded Goblet Squat Warm Up Drill
Begin this exercise by placing a circle band around your ankles and assume a wide stance – just outside shoulder width.
- With a kettlebell in your hands, get down to a parallel or below squat position – based on your capabilities and health history.
- From there, come back up halfway and open your hips wide, activating your glutes, and hold for 3-4 seconds before going back down.
- Perform this 2-3 times before squatting back up. Perform this whole exercise 3-5 times.
Note: This exercise is a great stabilization warm to do before performing barbell squats. It helps activate your glutes before lifting. By having the band around your ankles and not knees, it helps you focus on maintaining proper form and connection to the floor. Preventing improper knee shifts while squatting.
Kettlebell Hip Opener
Grab a light Kettlebell and get down on one knee. Open your other leg as wide as comfortable – placing your foot under your raised knee.
- Make sure to keep your core engaged and your pelvis in a neutral position.
- Begin to lean lateral toward your raised knee using the weight of the kettlebell to help you go into a deeper stretch. Hold for 5-10 Seconds and then come back to the starting position.
- Repeat 3-5 times on each side.
NOTE: This warm-up helps stretch the Inner Thigh (Adductor Complex), Calf Muscles (Soleus & Gastrocnemius), and increases Ankle Range of Motion (Dorsiflexion).
