Hey, what’s up? Coach Risley here, and what is your ideal warmup routine?

Traditionally speaking warming up prior to exercise has always been very encouraged and almost mandatory to keep your body safe during the main activity.

Is there merit to this? Absolutely, but the goal is always efficiency. If we save both time and unnecessary wasted energy then we are in a great position to do more and get better results during each session.

What is the purpose of warming up? The goal is to be able to comfortably get into the positions that we require for the activities we’re about to do. The last thing we would want is to get injured.

This is the golden rule to stay away from injury. If you perform a movement with a full active range of motion while still being able to control the load that you’re carrying, you will always be healthy.

So how do you create this perfect routine? Simply, perform the main activity that you’re planning to do right away and reverse engineer the process. Do you feel any restrictions? If so take some time to work on those areas before proceeding. After you have completed this, it’s time to slowly work your way up in intensity for the activity you’re doing. A general guideline is going from 25%, 50%, 75%, to 90% of the selected intensity you want to do that day.

Here are some examples from last week's Q&A on Instagram:

Case: Barbell Squats with hip restrictions.

Possible routine: Barbell squats 2x10 w/45lbs, reverse nordics 2x8, 90/90 hip rotations and proceed back under the barbell and continue the workout.

Case: 5km run with knee restrictions

Possible routine: 2 min mid-high knees on the spot, reverse walks with resistance 2x20 seconds, paused bodyweight lunges 2x10, and proceed into the 5km run gradually building yourself up to top speed for the workout.

Hope this article helps you understand how to efficiently manage your warmup routine so you can focus on what really matters, the workout!

Follow me @misostrong to learn more and ask questions you may have

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