We have more warm-up exercises you should do before your workout.
Click Here to Read Part 1 on warm-up exercises
Angels on the Wall
Wall angels are an excellent dynamic stretching exercise for your upper back muscles, spine, and joints. This warm-up stretching movement can also help ease achy and tight neck muscles. Wall angels put your thoracic spine and shoulder mobility to the test. If your training includes squats, overhead pressing, or other exercises that need thoracic spine mobility, this movement is ideal.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart against a wall and take two or three steps out. Maintain a small bend in your knees.
- Raise your hands near your ears and place your arms and shoulders flat against the wall, keeping your core engaged.
- Slide your arms up the wall above you while maintaining contact with the wall.
- Repeat the exercise by slowly lowering your arms.
Repeat for a total of 10 times.
Lunge combined with Hip Opener.
This lunge with a Hip opening movement is unlike your normal lunge. The lunge with a hip opener incorporates Hip rotation and abduction rather than only knee and hip flexion and extension. This warm-up lunge is an active activity that helps strengthen Hip stability and prepares you for hinging actions like the squat and deadlift.
Try to make this move as smooth and controlled as possible. With practice, this will become more fluid rather than in steps.
Instructions in Steps
- Take a tall step forward with your right foot, leaving your left foot behind.
- Lower your torso to the floor, bending your right knee and lowering your left leg nearly to the floor.
- Rotate your right knee to the right to open it slightly. Keep your right foot firmly planted.
- Open your left leg slightly by turning it gently and slowly to the left. Hold for one count before returning to your starting position. Repeat on the other side.
Repeat 10 times on each side.
Gate Operator
The gate opener workout works your lower body, pelvic, and core muscles.
This exercise promotes Hip mobility and range of motion while also building stability and balance. Warming up with the gate opener exercise will assist prepare the psoas muscles, which travel from your lower back region to your pelvis and to your femurs. These muscles assist in supporting your back, and activating them during your warm-up will protect you from damage during hip-flexion movements.
Instructions in Steps
- Stand tall; feet hip-width apart, toes pointed forward or slightly outward.
- Maintain your arms at your sides while engaging your core and bringing your shoulder blades down and back.
- Your weight should be on your right side and elevate your left knee to approximately the level of your belly button. Move your right leg in and across your body’s midline. Cross your left knee across your right leg.
- Next, extend your lifted left leg to the left (abduction), opening your Hip as far as possible. Maintain a strong core and forward-pointing hips.
- Return the knee to the center slowly, then return to the beginning position by lowering your foot to the ground.
- Repeat on the other side.
Complete 10 gate openers on each side.
Arms circles with Reach
Shoulder joints are extremely dynamic and easily injured. Many of us spend most of our days sitting and working in front of our computers, which causes our shoulders to get stiff and weaker over time. Warming up the shoulders before a workout by dynamically moving the joints and tissues is critical for preventing injury and activating the muscles.
Arm circles are a common warm-up exercise that you might have done in gym class. Adding a reach will help you extend your range of motion and warm up your shoulders even more.
Instructions in Steps
- Stand tall and engage your core.
- Concentrate on your shoulders as you slowly reach your arm back behind you until you have to flip your arm around, so your palm is facing forward.
- Reach as far back as you can while keeping your hips straight when reaching behind you and flipping your palm to face up.
- Your palms facing forward, circle your arm overhead until it is straight in front of you. Reach forward again, attempting to increase your range of motion while keeping your core straight.
Repeat 5 times, then reverse the action 5 more times.
Repeat on the other side.
Prone Cobra
This movement used during a warm-up is a yoga variant of the cobra stance. This is an isometric hold that is great for reducing back discomfort and preparing your body for thoracic and lumbar spine exercises.
This is a corrective exercise that is very beneficial before a workout after a long day at the office. Don’t skip the thumbs-up action with your palms pointing outward if you want to move your shoulders into external rotation during this exercise.
Instructions in Steps
- Lay on your stomach on the ground, hands at your sides, palms down.
- Lift your chest and torso as high as you can while maintaining your chin tucked into your chest.
- To open your shoulders, and add more intensity, lift your arms off the ground, keeping your thumbs pointing up to the ceiling. Your palms should be facing outward.
- Continue to open your shoulders and breathe through your nostrils. If possible, hold for 30 seconds or longer. Build up to holding this stance for extended periods of time, up to 3 minutes at a time.
Repeat the movement until you’ve held the contraction for 3 minutes total. If necessary, take rests between sets.
To Conclude on warm-up exercises
Warming up entails more than just raising your heart rate. While this is necessary, it is even more crucial to start waking up your CNS, getting into the right mentality, and moving your joints to prepare you for the job ahead.
For the best outcomes, stick with warm-up exercises that most closely resemble your workout. If you like, you can do some jumping jacks and jumping rope to get your heart rate up. As soon as you feel your body is warmed up, you can proceed with your workout.