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The Art and Science of Getting Started Before Your Workout
Get ready and energized for any big weight session with these quick and easy pre-workout starters, and perform at your best.
If you have time to train, you have time to warm up. Invest in pain-free training that only takes minutes. Remember, the more experienced you are, the more wear and tear you’ll accumulate, so don’t skip the warmup.
As a bonus, a proper warm-up will enhance your workout for better performance and faster gains. A good warm-up can do the following:
1. Mobilization and activation
The tightness you feel in certain areas may be caused by nearby muscles not being active. If your lower back feels stiff, it’s usually your brain protecting your body from its uncontrollable range of motion. This could be due to underactivity or immobility of the glutes, causing the back to be overly strained to do work it shouldn’t be doing.
While stretching may provide short-term relief, it does little to increase flexibility or range of motion over time unless you address the root cause: instability and poor activation of other muscle groups.
Instead gradually increase joint mobility and improve range of motion. Improvements in mobility must be followed by “activation,” which tells your brain to turn off the brakes as your muscles create the necessary stability for the job.
All of this is achieved by improving mobility in normally sticky joints and activating nearby dormant muscle fibers. result? Pain-free performance and improved range of motion.
2. Improves blood flow
Anyone who’s ever taken a gas station pain reliever knows the benefits of increased blood flow. Well, maybe this is a bad example.
When you flood your muscles with blood, you’re delivering oxygen and nutrients to the tissue for better growth and performance. You’ll also increase the amount of synovial fluid in your joints, helping them move faster and more smoothly. More synovial fluid increases the shock-absorbing ability of the joint and makes the surrounding muscles more flexible, reducing the risk of tears.
That’s where a proper pre-workout primer comes in. When you perform specific exercises prior to training, you pre-pump your muscles with resource-rich blood while supporting joint health.
Plus, improved blood flow helps reduce inflammation and promote healing, which is especially important if you’re dealing with bothersome aches or pains.
3. Promotes the mind-muscle connection
One good thing leads to another good thing. The better your mind connects to your muscles, the better your ability to activate muscle fibers during training, the more tissue damage you cause, the stronger you will become, and the more muscle you will build . What’s a good way to increase your mind-muscle connection? activate your muscles before training.
That’s why it’s also important to avoid hasty warm-ups. This isn’t a set of passive arm swings, turning on your playlist, and jumping into a heavy workgroup. You need to focus, concentrate and keep your focus on your muscles to get the most out of your body.
You want to feel the muscles stretch and contract throughout your ROM. This helps you create connections between your brain and muscle fibers to recruit more tissue with each repetition.
Getting Started Before Your Workout
Now let’s take a look at four pre-workout kick-off circuits to improve your performance, strength, and muscle gain. These should take you 3-5 minutes. Complete each exercise without rest. Own every inch of every location.
I recommend daily exercise practice. Do this even on days off. However, I’ve broken these down into upper, lower, and full-body primers to fit seamlessly into your workouts. Do the ones that work best for the workouts you’ll be doing.
upper body primer
1. With dislocation
work: Arms, chest, shoulders, upper back
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Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and hold a resistance band with palms facing down, hands shoulder-width apart.
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Raise your arms overhead, keeping them straight and in line with your shoulders.
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Slowly and steadily pull the band down behind your back while keeping your arms straight.
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As you lower the band, focus on keeping your shoulder blades pulled down and back. Avoid shrugging your shoulders toward your ears.
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Once the band reaches your lower back, reverse the movement and bring the band back overhead, back to the starting position.
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Do 3 sets of 10 reps each.
2. Pull the belt apart
work: Arms, chest, shoulders, upper back
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Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and hold the resistance band with both hands, palms facing down.
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With hands shoulder-width apart, hold the elastic band across your chest.
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Keeping your arms straight, move your hands out to the sides to pull the straps apart.
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Focus on using your upper back and shoulder muscles to perform this move.
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Keep your shoulder blades pulled down and back all the time.
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Once your arms are fully extended to the sides, hold this position for a moment.
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Slowly lower your arms back to the starting position, resisting the pull of the band.
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Do 3 sets of 12 reps each.
3. Squeeze Pushups
Muscle work: Chest, Triceps, Shoulders, Upper Back, Lats, Core
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Start in a standard push-up position. Lower yourself under control until your chest is just above the floor.
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As you come up, focus on bringing your hands down and together as hard as you can.
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Squeeze the chest by thinking of pressing the biceps into the outside of the pecs. This creates an isometric contraction to improve the connection of your thought muscles to your chest, and more specifically, the sternal fibers of your pectoral muscles.
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Pause briefly at the top to squeeze your pecs together before starting the next rep.
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Do 3 sets of 6-8 reps each.
lower body primer
1. Side squat
work: Hamstrings, glutes, quads, glutes, core
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Stand with feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, toes pointing forward.
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Shift your weight to your left foot and take a big step with your right foot to the right.
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Keeping your left foot still and bending your right knee, push your hips back as you squat down.
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Keep your chest straight, your back straight, and your weight on your heels.
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Hold for a moment, then push back to the starting position through your right foot.
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Repeat the movement in the opposite direction, stepping out with the left foot, bending the left knee and squatting down.
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Do 3 times on each side, 5 times each time.
2. Toe squats
work: Hamstrings, Quads, Ankles, Glutes, Glutes, Core
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Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointing forward.
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Staying in an upright position, reach out and grab your toes.
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Lift your toes, exhale, and lower your hips into a deep squat.
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Pull your chest up at the bottom.
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Stand up and while still holding onto your toes, straighten your leg while looking at your shoelaces.
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Do 3 sets of 10 reps each.
3. Lateral Lunge
work: Glutes, Quads, Hamstrings, Adductors/Abductors
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Stand with feet hip-width apart, arms at sides.
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Take a large step with your right foot to the right, then turn your left foot so that the toes are also pointing to the right.
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Lower your body by bending your right knee and keeping your left leg straight. Your weight should be on your right foot.
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Keep your chest up, engage your core, and straighten your back.
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Push your right foot back to the starting position.
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Switch sides and repeat.
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Do 3 sets of 8 reps on each side.
4. Split Squat Iso-Hold
work: Glutes, Quads, Hamstrings, Adductors/Abductors
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Start in a lunge position with one foot in front of the other. Make sure your front foot is far enough in front so your knee doesn’t go past your toes as you lower your body.
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Lower your back knee to the ground, keeping your weight on your front foot.
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Your front knee should be at a 90-degree angle.
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Pause for 2-3 seconds.
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Push your body back to the starting position through your front foot.
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Repeat, then switch legs.
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Do 3 sets of 8 reps on each side.
5. Bodyweight squats and pauses
work: Glutes, Quads, Hamstrings, Adductors/Abductors
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Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
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Descend to the bottom position of the squat.
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With chest out and spine neutral, hold bottom position for 15-30 seconds before standing up.
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Do 3 sets of 8 reps.
full body primer
1. Inchworm
work: Hamstrings, glutes, core, chest, back, shoulders, arms
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Begin standing with feet hip-width apart and arms by your sides.
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Bend forward at the waist and place your hands on the ground in front of you.
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Walk your hands forward until your body is in a plank position with your body in a straight line from head to toe.
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Step forward with your feet as close to your hands as possible while keeping your legs straight. This completes a “rep”.
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Do 3 rounds of 5 reps.
2. Rotary Sumo Squat
work: Chest mobility, trapezius, lats, rhomboids, obliques, glutes, quads, hamstrings, adductors/abductors
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Start in a standing position with feet hip-width apart and arms by your sides.
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Bend your knees and push your hips back, lowering into a squat position.
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As you squat, reach your right arm into the inside of your right leg and grab the big toe of your right foot. Keep your left arm stretched overhead for balance.
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Hold this position for a moment to feel the stretch in your hamstrings and calves.
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Release your toes and return to the starting position.
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Repeat on the other side, grabbing the left toes with the left hand.
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Do 3 sets of 8 reps on each side.
3. Yoga push-ups
work: Chest mobility, trapezius, lats, rhomboids, chest, triceps, shoulders, lower back, hamstrings
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Start in a plank position with hands directly under shoulders and feet hip-width apart.
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Bend your elbows and lower your body to the floor, keeping them close to your sides.
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At the same time, shift your weight forward onto your toes and engage your core to maintain a straight line from your head to your heels.
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Stop when your upper arms are parallel to the floor, hovering above the floor.
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Hold this position for a moment, then push up back to the starting position.
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Do 3 sets of 8 reps.
4. Elbow Taps
work: Chest mobility, trapezius, lats, rhomboids, chest, triceps, shoulders, core
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Start in a full plank position with hands directly under shoulders and feet hip-width apart.
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While keeping your shoulders, torso, and hips square, slowly tap your right elbow with your left hand.
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Lower your hands back to the ground.
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Repeat, then switch sides.
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Do 3 sets of 8 reps on each side.
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