Let’s talk about warming up. Yeah, that thing you always skip because it’s inconvenient and you just need to “get your workout in”.
Warming up is important because it increases your body temperature, gets your muscles lengthening and contracting, activates your core, and fires up your nervous system!
Most people sit for a good portion of your day, which means that your glute muscles are likely lengthened and weakened. So how do you go from the desk chair to a squat workout?
Take a peek at my warm up for squats in this video, which includes these five components:
1. Core stabilization.
2. Thoracic mobility.
3. Dynamic flexibility of hamstrings and hip flexors.
4. Hip mobility.
5. Glute activation
You also want to make sure you warm up on the actual movement you’re doing – in this case, a squat. Jumping straight to your working weights can result in poor movement quality and injury. I like to spend some time moving through my whole range of motion, and maybe even throw a band in there to remind my glutes to fire!
People commonly have with squats due to limitations in hip and ankle mobility, so warm-ups that focus on these two regions will not only improve your squat that day but also over time. My barbell warm-up includes:
10 deep squats with bands
10 knee pulses in deep squat position with bands
10 lateral rocks in deep squat position with bands
10 ankle circles each way in deep squat position with bands
I typically then progress the weight before going to my working weight for the day. It may seem like this is a lot to do before actually getting to your “real workout”, but it will not only allow your workout to be more effective but also decrease your risk of injury. Don’t you think that’s worth 15 minutes?
Happy squatting!
erinsimmonsfitness 