When we get in the gym to put our bodies through an intense, vigorous workout, it is imperative to go through some variation of warm-up drills. This serves the purpose to "wake up" the Central Nervous System (CNS) so that it is ready to stimulate muscle contraction when the heavy lifting starts.
Now, before doing a workout or run, you guys may have some smart-ass friend that takes a very funny Woody Harrelson line from the movie Zombieland saying, "do you ever see a lion limber up before it takes down a gazelle?"
It's meant to be funny but a question that got me thinking a bit.... No, we don't see that in the wild. And, why not? Simple, we are not lions. Our bodies are not put together like a lions; our nervous system circuitry is not identical to a lion's. Maybe one day, long ago, our bodies were equipped for that....to pounce at a moments notice on a consistant basis. Not anymore, jack. We sit at our desks for hours out of the day, sit in our ultra-comfortable car/truck seats, and probably exhibit sub-optimal posture throughout the day. Our hips are locked up in a tight position for the majority of the day and before you "bring out that inner Lion", you gotta Limber Up, or there's a good chance you're gonna be laid up, injured.
Your warm-up doesn't have to take 20-30 minutes. It needs to be long enough for you to have broken a bit of a sweat and to have moved your body through some of the ways that will have mimicked some of the weighted movements you will be doing for your workout of the day (i.e. Dynamic Warm-up)*. This could take you as little as 5 minutes.
*Stay tuned for a follow-up post on important distinctions between Dynamic and Static Stretching
It is smart for this warm-up to include core specific exercises such as: planks, push-ups, torso/spinal rotations, body-weight squatting, glute-hip bridge, use of a suspension trainer like a TRX, etc. The core is the "Action Center" of the body. It's purpose is to contract around the spine and protect it during functional movements. Every movement we do in a workout will to some degree involve our core musculature; so, make sure you make it a point to isolate the core in the warm-up with a plank or hip bridge. We want to make sure we wake the core up early, it will produce a more enjoyable workout with better performance.
Keith
