These are the two things essential to warming up.
Without them, and your warm up isn’t a warm up.
It becomes a meaningless process of going through the motions as you convince yourself that your half-hearted inchworms are going to help with your deadlifts later that day.
You have often heard of the Central Nervous System (CNS) referenced in the context of physical training. It consists of the brain and spinal cord. You understand that it needs to be primed and ready if you are to get the most out of your session.
A CNS that has been prepared appropriately results in a feeling of snappiness and alertness. The physical “warm” you feel is a by-product of this.
An ill-prepared/activated CNS is characterised by feelings of sluggishness, stiffness and the physical “warm” takes far longer to induce (if it happens at all).
With the brain being the vital component in the CNS, it is in your best interest to pay attention in order to warm up.
Without using terms like “mindfulness” or “presence” (although these may just be the most appropriate), it is your job to ensure your focus is orientated on the task at hand, and not elsewhere.
Without attention, and your mind elsewhere, by extension, you haven’t engaged the brain and the CNS appropriately. Your warm up isn’t a warm up. Just an assortment of random exercises you complete while you consider what you’ll be having for dinner that night.
Paying attention also allows you to make micro and macro adjustments on the fly to your session.
If you apply attention, you are susceptible to nuance; you pick up on slight deviations in what is usually a smooth movement pattern; restrictions which usually are not present. With this data, you can alter and design an effective training session, by manipulating intent, intensity and stimulus.
Bodybuilders have used for decades the term “mind-muscle connection”. While for years, this was just an anecdote, this experience is now being scientifically validated. Stated differently, the mind muscle connection is intent to connect.
We can take two athletes; the trained and the untrained, and ask them to lift the same weight for the same amount of repetitions and receive two dramatically different training outcomes and stimulus’. The trained athlete understands that if they are performing an exercise for maximal effectiveness, then it is not only the fact that load has been moved from one point to another that matters. It is how this is done; the quality, contraction, connection, and ultimately, the intent as well.
In a warm up, intent is essential. You are setting a platform for what is to unfold later on in that session. If your session involves lifting heavy, intensity, or anything you hope to achieve with quality, you need to communicate to your body prior to that this will be the case.
Going from a couple of air squats into heavy squat cleans doesn’t quite cut it. But going from air squats holding maximal contraction at end ranges, with an explosive hip extension at the top is far better.
Attention. And Intent.
These are the two things essential to warming up.
If you want to understand more about how to effectively explore and apply these, I am hosting a free workshop on Saturday the 22nd of April from 10:30am for up to 2 hours.
Be there if you are interested and wanting to learn.
Serge Houhlias
CFH Coach
