How to Create the Most Bang For Your Buck Warm-Up

When it comes to warming up, I’ve tried it all.

Static stretches. Dynamic stretches. 20 minutes of foam rolling and glute “activation”. An entire mobility routine. A 45-minute pilates class before my squats (yes, really).

I know how frustrating it can be to try and strike the balance between moving well and being efficient with your time.

In an ideal world, we all walk straight into the gym, lift a few PRs, high-five our gym crush and are back home in time for dinner.

And while that may be a little far-fetched, I do think there’s a way to get the most out of your training without having to dedicate half of it to warming up.

Before I get into how that’s possible, let’s talk about why you should warm up in the first place.

Why You Should Warm Up

The purpose of a warm-up is just that: to increase core body temperature and the temperature of the muscles you’re about to use.

This means more efficient movement, improvements in strength and performance, and reduced injury risk.

The warm-up is an important part of any training program.

But that doesn’t mean it has to be long and complicated.

For most people, a good warm-up will probably involve some form of low-intensity aerobic exercise, training-specific movement, or a combination of both.

The warm-up structure will depend on your ability level and training history, as well as the type of training you do.

If you have certain mobility issues or injuries, this can come into play as well.

There is no one best way, and what works for you might not be the best option for someone else.

This is why finding the best warm-up for you might take some trial and error.

Let’s run through a couple of different warm-up approaches that you can try out in your training to get an idea of what works for you.

I’ll start with the quickest, most specific warm-up that still provides benefit, then slowly add layers.

I recommend doing the same in your training — start with the bare minimum, and if that isn't enough, add to it until it is.

The Specific Warm-Up

For compound movements like a squat or deadlift, the most practical way to warm up is usually to perform lighter sets of your first prescribed exercise.

I recommend using at least two warmup sets of increasingly heavier loads, gradually working your way up to the weight you plan on lifting (otherwise known as your working weight).

This will help to prepare for the weight you’re about to lift by warming your muscles, priming your nervous system, and practising the skill required for the movement.

It’s important to make sure that the number of reps you complete is reducing as the load increases so that your warm-up doesn’t become too fatiguing.

Here’s how it might look:

To start, choose a weight you can lift for 15–20 reps and perform 10–12 reps.

This shouldn’t be strenuous, but you should move with intent. The goal here is to get warm and get moving.

Next, add some load.

Choose a weight somewhere between that first set and your predicted working weight, and perform a few more reps, leaving plenty in the tank.

If you’re not that strong, you might be able to immediately jump up to the halfway point between the two.

The stronger you are though, the more steps you’ll need in between (the tradeoff being that the fewer warm-up sets you require, the more movement you might need beforehand to actually increase your body temperature).

Work your way up to somewhere near your working weight (say 90% of what you’re aiming to lift) for a few more easy reps, and then from there, use RPE to guide your decision-making.

If the weight is moving well and you’re feeling good, add some weight, and get into the working sets.

If not, you might complete your working sets without adding any more load.

The General Warm-Up

If the specific warm-up doesn’t do it for you, or you’re just feeling particularly stiff one day, then try adding some general movement of the muscles and joints you’re about to use.

This could come in the form of core work, jumps, throws, rotations, or just about any exercise that you feel gets you warm and loosens you up.

Sometimes I like throwing in my calf work at the start of a session - it warms up my ankles and means I do it to a better standard than if I were just tack it on at the end.

Similarly, if you have core work included somewhere else in your session, for example, you can play around with putting those exercises first up and kill two birds with one stone.

The Aerobic Warm-Up

If the previous two warm-ups aren’t enough, then it might be beneficial to start by doing 5–10 minutes of aerobic exercise at a low-moderate intensity.

It doesn’t really matter what form that takes — rower or treadmill, skipping rope or battle rope.

But try to keep it relatively specific to whatever it is you’re about to train.

10 minutes on the treadmill is probably less helpful for the bench press than it is for squatting.

The goal here is just to increase body temperature and get yourself psychologically prepared to lift.

So don’t overdo it — you should be able to hold a conversation and only break a light sweat.

The aerobic warm-up is more important if you’re rolling out of bed and straight into training.

Your body temperature will be relatively low at this time, so throw on a hoodie, spend the extra 5 minutes getting warmer, and see how it affects your training.

You can use this in combination with or instead of the general warm-up.

What about stretching and foam rolling?

As previously mentioned, the main benefit of the warm-up comes from increasing body and muscle temperature.

Therefore, foam rolling and static stretching probably aren’t your best options, and there isn’t a whole lot of research proving their effectiveness.

But if you find either one effective, or you like the way they feel, feel free to use them.

If something subjectively makes you feel better, I’m not going to take that away from you.

I would just caution against spending more than 5–10 minutes doing so, as any extra time is probably unnecessary and counterproductive.

Unlike static stretching, dynamic stretching involves stretching muscles by moving them through a full range of motion.

Similar to the general warm-up, this may help achieve an increase in body temp, but the positive effects are likely similar to low-intensity cardio.

So it’s probably fairly redundant to incorporate dynamic stretches into your warm-up if you’ve already completed some aerobic work (or general movement).

But again, if you feel like it works for you, it probably does, so fire away.

Again, if you are going to use them, try to make them as specific as possible to the training you’re about to undertake.