Hey Goliath fam, Jaco here for another addition of #WisdomWednesday and this week I thought I’d share with you some simple warm ups that you can include in your workouts depending on what you’re doing that day. We’ll talk a little bit about the warm up and I’ll dive right into some movement specific warm ups that I believe will increase the quality of your warm up, thus increasing the quality of your workout!
Now, the following is not by any chance a list of “the best warm ups you HAVE to include” you know by now that’s not how we roll. Instead it’s a short list of movements we like to incorporate at Goliath to ensure our athletes are prepped for the demands in the upcoming session.
A good warm up should be a good mix between general body preparedness and workout specific movements. Meaning, even if you’re doing an upper body day, you still want to include some sort of lower body warm up to make sure the whole body is prepped for lifting, this can come in handy when bracing, or stance comes into play in your upper body lift.
Below we will be covering 3 warm ups for an Upper Body Push/Pull Day. These warm ups will challenge mobility of the upper back, muscle contractions of the shoulder complex and core and hip activation as well. They are:
1.) Cat Cow
The Cat Cow ensures mobility throughout the backs natural curves, this relieves tension in the lumbar, thoracic and cervical spine. This is a great movement for any upper body workout as it targets movement of the upper back and neck, and hence the musculature associated,Hips, Lats ,Rhomboids, Shoulders, Chest, Abs, common tight areas that can hinder performance.
Cues:
Try to think of this guy as a 3 point movement.
On the Cat Stretch:
1) Hips tilt inwards.
2) Upper back gets pushed up
3) Neck flexes into the chest
On the Cow:
- Hips tilt back and up to the ceiling.
- Stomach pushes into the ground.
- Chin comes out and neck extends back.
- You want to line up the wrists below the shoulders and be strong in that “all fours” position with the toes flexed into the ground and the heels pointed to the ceiling.
-Breathe throughout this movement as holding your breath will tighten up the core muscles and limit the range of motion.
Perform 2 sets of 10 reps of both the Cat and the Cow
2.) Sherapovas
Sherapovas are a great shoulder activation drill to add to your shoulder workout because of the fact that it trains all 3 muscle contractions.
Isometrically challenges you when you're holding the tension of the band at the strating posistion.
Eccentrically and then concentrically challenges you when you move into that C formation.
This trimensional muscle contraction ensures that the shoulder is ready anything we’re about to unleash on it!
Cues:
Grab a moderate band that will challenge you throughout the reps but not exhaust you and compromise form but also not to light as to not challenge the movement.
With one hand at a time move in a C pattern allowing the tension of the band to move the hand inward and then moving against that tension outwards to chalenge that rotator cuff!
After you’ve reached the top of the range of motion move backwards into the same pattern back to the start.
Keep tension on the band at all times to ensure maximal muscle contraction.
Perform 2 sets of 2 up and 2 down on each arm!
3.) Bird Dog
The Bird Dog is an amazing addition to any warm up protocol. It engages muscles of the hips, low back, core, upper back and shoulders. It is a great full body movement that you can do anywhere without any equipment. This movement will challenge and progress spinal stability as well as core engagement along with hip and shoulder mobility.
Cues:
Toes flexed into the ground, sturdy base of support on the knees, hands under the shoulders and fingers spread out as to increase base of support.
With minimal flexion of the spine, move the opposite arm and the opposite leg straight to their respective walls.
Toes Flexed all the way through and arm reaches out as much as range of motion allows.
Brace the core to keep stable and bring the arm and leg back to starting position.
Perform 2 sets of 10 reps on each side, all reps on one side and then switch.
Add these fundamental movements into your next upper body warmup and reap the benefits of mobility, activation and body preparedness. !
Thanks again for your time on this #WisdomWednesday and as always if you’d like me to discuss a topic, share a tip, or look into an inquiry don’t hesitate to reach out to me on Insta @labfit.pt or via email at jaco@goliathhighperformance.com !
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