The PERFECT Way to Warm-up

If you ever want to hear the MOST amount of people sigh when it comes to doing something in a workout, all you have to do is say, “time to warm-up” and you will hear the groans and the moans. Heck, I was even being interviewed for a podcast where we were joking that many fitness professionals throw people on the treadmill for 5-10 minutes and call it warm-up when in reality they just want a few minute break between clients.

Yea, I use to HATE taking people through a warm-up because they hated the process too. In looking back, if I am being honest, a lot of the warm-up I was doing with clients was minimally effective. That is because there we SO many ideas going through my head, I didn’t know REALLY what to do!

Fast forward to today and I love helping people through their warm-up and to be honest, they enjoy the process far better too! Why? For one, I’ve learned in over 20 years in fitness what really works with people, what is going to be the BIGGEST bang for their buck. When a warm-up actually does what it is suppose to do (prepare the body for more challenging training), then it is amazing how it is better for everyone!

You might think what I am about to talk about is too challenging to implement and too complicated with a group. I’ll tell you that a few weekends I go I took a group of 20 plus people (that I didn’t know very well) through a ten minute warm-up with full instruction, great flow, that left them feeling great!

What is the key? Well, there are a few and let’s go over how to use a warm-up that you and clients will actually enjoy doing.

Step 1: Have a plan

Just like a workout, if you don’t have a plan for your warm-up it is sloppy, time consuming, and just ineffective. So, what type of plan should you have? First step is understanding that 3-4 exercises done well can do plenty to get the body ready for more intense training.

Second, you want to work people from the ground up. Most of us are coming to workout after sitting a lot and we need to progressively build up our movement. That is why we have such an emphasis on Dead Bug variation of DVRT to help build those layers.

Lastly, use timed intervals so that people can move slowly and deliberate through the drills rather than trying to just “get through” something.

Step 2: Create connections

I’ve talked A LOT about the kinetic chains of the body and that they are vital in building better movement, strength, and injury resiliency. Guess what, they are! That means our warm-up should largely be about making these connections and re-establishing them after we have had to sit most of our days and lose those important connections. Here is Danny Jackowicz explaining and showing you why those connections are important.

Step 3: Be deliberate about what you are doing!

The power of ANY exercise whether it is warm-up, strength, conditioning, or flexibility based is only successful if you are aware of what you are trying to accomplish. Most people are only focused and taught to worry about lifting a weight. I don’t care how much you lift, I care how you lift it. How do you use your body, how do you set-up, where are you creating tension, and how do you create the movement with your body.

That is why our DVRT warm-ups are far more deliberate. This why we don’t need as many exercises. It is THIS reason that the results seem magical (even for a warm-up) yet, all it is about is teaching the body how to move properly and smarter.

When you do so you warm-up is concise, effective, challenging, and flows seamlessly into your workout. In fact, DVRT Master, Drew McConaha, shows you a DVRT warm-up he uses before squatting. Teaching core tension, waking up the connections of the body, and priming the body for what it will have to do is key in getting great results not just from your warm-up, but your workout too!

You love these ideas of how to make your workouts smarter and more effective? Check out our DVRT Courses that give you the blueprint for real success! Save 25% for only a short time left with coupon code “father” HERE