Blog Post

YOUR ROAD TO FITNESS: UPGRADE YOUR WARM-UP

Kevin Kohan • Nov 08, 2017

I recently wrote a blog post about The Road to Fitness "Why Getting Fit Is a Priority". I explained in Step 1 how you MUST Create INERTIA and then use the Momentum to your advantage. Why you ask? Because Life will vary from day to day so you must Adapt and when you are able to adapt this is when you STRIKE and you get moving! Understand this and Except this because when you do everything just seems to move much smoother when you are able to 'ride the wave'..

Get your MINDSET rght!

UPGRADE YOUR WARM-UP

STEP 2 :

You might be tempted to skip the warm up when you work out. After all, you only have so much time to exercise—“ Let’s just get on with it already! I’m in a hurry !”

But warming up is a critical component of your fitness routine, and skipping it could have unpleasant and even dangerous results—such as muscle strain, muscle injury and pain.

Oh yeah, and a proper warm-up will actually IMPROVE your workout performance!


The Warm-up: Basics

A warm up is a short workout period at the beginning of your exercise session. It is generally low intensity and prepares your body for the upcoming exertion.

The purpose of a traditional warm up is to slightly increase your heart rate. This raises your core body temperature and increases the blood flow to your muscles. Cold muscles and other connective tissues do not stretch very easily. A warm up session literally warms them up and relaxes them, making them more supple and ready to work.

Without a warm up, you will be more susceptible to sprained muscles, cramps and injury. Ultimately, these effects could keep you from exercising for an extended period of time as you recover, which is not conducive to the healthy lifestyle you desire.

It takes about three minutes for your body to realize that it needs to move more blood to your muscles, so the ideal warm up time is between five and ten minutes.

There is no set prescription for what your warm up should consist of. You can choose a set of preparatory exercises (such as squats, lunges, toe touches, etc.,) or you can do a light intensity version of your upcoming workout (a brisk walk to prepare for a run, for example, or lifting light weights before increasing the load).


The Warm-Up: Advanced Strategy

Now with all that being said about a “basic” warm-up, let me share with you how I personally prepare myself, as well as every one of my personal training boot camp clients.

For long-term health and fitness combined with your weight loss training efforts it’s imperative to understand that a proper warm-up is about more than just “warming up the body.” It’s a about preparing the body for an all-out training assault that’s going to boost your metabolism through the roof.

Therefore, we look at the warm-up as a Preparation Phase for the workout to come. Through research and practical experience we’ve determined that best results are typically seen when an exercise prep routine incorporates 3 key components:

1. Tissue Quality

2. Corrective Exercise

3. Mobility & Activation


Tissue Quality

Almost all chronic joint pain or overuse injuries are caused by tightness and restrictions in the muscles above and below the joint in question. In other words, it’s not about PAIN SITE… it’s about PAIN SOURCE !

Knee pain is often caused by restrictions in the tissue of your calves and front/inner/outer thighs. Back pain is often caused by restrictions in your glutes and hamstrings. Shoulder pain is often caused by restrictions in your thoracic spine (T-Spine), chest and lats.

Tissue quality describes the general health of your muscles and the interconnected web of fascia that surrounds them all. Over time, we develop scar tissue, adhesions, knots and trigger points due to high-intensity training, overuse, and/or extended periods of sitting.

The best way to address this is to self-massage sore, tight, and restricted muscle groups of the body to regenerate tissue both pre and post-workout to promote injury reduction and allow for a smoother, more productive workout.

In addition, self-massage before stretching allows for a better, more complete stretch by smoothing out the knots. You should always precede flexibility work with tissue quality for best results.

Massage is one of those counter-intuitive things whereby you are actually actively searching for pain. In fact, it’s the only time to ever do so when it comes to proper training.

The best analogy I can give you is this:

If it hurts that much when you put pressure on your muscles, just imagine how bad your joints must feel!


Corrective Exercise

We all have unique “issues” with our body mechanics and functional movement capabilities. For some it’s a lack of flexibility, while others there may be a balance or mobility issue. Perhaps there’s an asymmetry – one side is significantly “stronger” than the other leading to muscular imbalances, postural distortions and overcompensation injuries. You can find out your individual corrective needs by going through a movement screen such as the Functional Movement Screen (FMS).

The FMS is a ranking and grading system that documents movement patterns that are key to normal function. By screening these patterns, the FMS readily identifies functional limitations and asymmetries. These are issues that can reduce the effects of functional training and physical conditioning and distort body awareness.

The FMS generates the Functional Movement Screen Score, which is used to target problems and track progress. This scoring system is directly linked to the most beneficial corrective exercises to restore mechanically sound movement patterns.

Exercise professionals monitor the FMS score to track progress and to identify those exercises that will be most effective to restore proper movement and build strength in each individual.

So, in a nutshell, the FMS is designed to

  • Identify functional limitations and asymmetries which have been linked to increased injury risk
  • Provide exercises to restore proper movement, and build stability, mobility, and strength in each individual

Mobility & Activation

More than just a typical warm-up, a mobility and activation circuit truly prepares your body for a maximum performance work out.

Mobility describes the ability of a joint, or a series of joints, to move through an ideal range of motion. Though mobility relies on flexibility, it requires an additional strength, stability, and neuromuscular control component to allow for proper movement. Activation is often paired with mobility because many mobility exercises activate key, and often dormant, pillar stabilizers in your hips, core and shoulders.

More Than Just a Warm-Up…

So, as you can see, a warm-up is much more than just a warm-up when you’re training smarter for long-term health, fitness and fat loss goals.

Think twice before you skip the “warm-up” in your next workout…

By Kevin Kohan 15 Mar, 2023
The AdvoCare 10-Day Reset™ provides the tools you need to jumpstart healthy habits, which is a huge focus for many during the new year. If you’re curious about the Reset, but want to learn more before taking the leap, we’ve rounded up a few of the top things we love about this system. Keep on reading to learn more! https://my.advocare.com/advocare-10-day-reset/?D=120922584
By Kevin Kohan 09 Nov, 2022
A strong immune system is important, especially in today’s climate. During seasons when we are more prone to illness, we often look for ways to help support immunity. Many studies show that a balanced diet combined with adequate sleep and exercise, effectively primes our body to fight infection and disease. Throughout the years, many foods have also helped contribute to living a healthy lifestyle. Incorporating some of these foods into the diet can help support our body’s immunity. So next time you’re headed to the grocery store, make a list, and power up your plate to include these nutritious foods. POWER UP YOUR PLATE
By Kevin Kohan 22 Sep, 2022
Many of us want to be able to run, jog, or walk a 5K… but the goal can often seem overwhelming and intimidating. But, what if it didn’t have to be? What if you could complete a 5K in as little as 2 Months? Well, now it IS possible! I put together a FREE 8-week Walk-Jog-Run 5K Training Plan just for you. It’s a step-by-step plan that can help almost anyone complete a 5K run in just 8 short weeks! Plus there are so many other reasons to ramp up your run/jog/walk game: Benefiting heart health Lowering your risk of disease Boosting energy Elevating your mood Improving better sleep Reducing stress Getting up off the couch and into your life! Excited to learn more? Grab your copy for FREE here >>
By Kevin Kohan 25 Aug, 2022
This month I’ve been talking a lot about next-level actions to get even better results from your fitness and health habits. You’ve probably noticed a theme: it’s all about the fundamentals. That’s because even the best ‘next-level’ actions won’t do much if you aren’t nailing your basics most of the time. But what if you ARE covering your basics and want to ramp things up even more? This is when you can turn into an exercise mad scientist to find your own “secret formula” for supercharged results. Your top tip for becoming a successful biohacker?
By Kevin Kohan 10 Aug, 2022
🔥 The only hack you need for your goals I’ve got some great info for you today that I wanted to share ASAP because it can make a huge difference in your results. Every few days, someone will ask me what I think about some trendy fitness or wellness topic … things like fasting, supplements, a new fitness gadget … Basically, something (anything!) that’s designed to speed up your results. So, over the next few weeks, I’m going to focus on how to REALLY supercharge your results and break down specific actions you can take to elevate your results to the next level, fast. Because YES: it IS possible to make small changes that yield BIG results. In this email, I’ve got the #1 TIP to rocket you toward your goals. This is the absolute most important thing you should do before you get fancy with any trendy “hacks.” It’s to NAIL YOUR BASICS.
By Kevin Kohan 04 Aug, 2022
You asked for it, you’ve got it! We’ve got a list of 5 ways you can boost the results from your workouts … STARTING TODAY. By “results,” I mean noticeable changes in your stamina, strength, energy, and overall fitness. In addition to this, this will also have a super HUGE impact on your overall health & wellness because it plays into your immune system, your sleep, heart health and so much more. Before I get into the tips, I want you to remember one thing that will help drive all of those results: YOU ARE AN ATHLETE in training, no matter how young or old you are, or your current fitness or activity level. You’re an athlete who ‘Trains For Life’! You are training for your BEST LIFE. Having a fit, strong, and healthy body that can help you make the MOST of every single day is something worth fighting for!
14 Jul, 2022
🚨 [SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS] BMI rate in kids is skyrocketing right now and here's why. According to a new CDC report, kids’ BMI has been increasing at nearly DOUBLE the rate than it did before the pandemic began. BMI (body mass index) is a measure of weight to height that’s an “easy screening method for weight category: underweight, healthy weight, overweight, and obesity.” Alarmingly, the increase was especially high in preschool and school-aged children. This is DEFINITELY something we all need to be paying attention to. There were 432,302 kids aged 2 to 19 years old in the study. They found the rate of BMI increase jumped from 0.052 (pre-pandemic) to 0.100 kg/m 2 /month during the pandemic. In more understandable terms, in August 2019, the obesity rate in the group was 19.3% (already high) … and it reached 22.4% in August 2020 and close to 25% in August 2021. We already knew that kids were gaining weight during the pandemic because of all of the changes in their daily habits …But this study shows how significant this negative impact was in just A FEW SHORT YEARS. Here’s another key finding: The CDC found that children who were already obese gained about 1 to 1.2 pounds a month, putting them on track to gain 6.1 to 7.3 pounds in 6 months. This group is gaining weight at a faster rate compared to the 2.7 pounds in those with a healthy weight. Straight from the study: “Accelerated weight gain, especially among children, can cause long-lasting metabolic changes that put children at risk for serious and costly co-occurring conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and depression.” The US already has a high level of obesity among kids, affecting more than one in six children. This is serious stuff, folks! We need to be paying attention and making sure our kids are staying ACTIVE and putting HEALTHY FOOD into their bodies. The good news is that this is ALL stuff we have control over. More good news is that if you’ve noticed this happening in your family, we’ve got a solution to help! 🤸‍♀️🏃‍♀️Let your kids explore new and exciting activities and challenges with our HIT FIT KIDS CAMP. Whether your child is a veteran with us or coming for the very first time, we know they will be enriched with new fitness experiences that will inspire them to live an active healthy lifestyle. We launched our first HIT FIT KIDS CAMP in 2021 to help offset the findings in the study above and the outcome was beyond what we expected! Our one week all-inclusive camp will: Enhance your child's cognitive skills and promote working in teams. Your child will learn different skills from different sports They will also learn about nutrition through interactive activities & They will experience how delicious healthy lunches can actually taste from our friends over at EAT PRIME MEALS who will providing the healthy lunches for your kids. REGISTER Today & DONT let them miss this camp!!! 🔸Camp starts Monday, July 18th-22nd 🔸All Inclusive Day Camp 9AM-1PM 🔸Lunch will be provided by Eat Prime Meals **Please share this with a friend or family member - we want to get this message out there to people who FEEL THEIR KIDS need this.
By Kevin Kohan 07 Jul, 2022
🔥If you are serious about your goals… one of the BEST things you can do is focus on THE BASICS. Like Bodyweight Strength Training! They give you the biggest bang for your buck over the long run! Here’s what I’m talking about … One of my top personal basics – something I try to do every day – NON-NEGOTIABLE for my fitness is at least 15 minutes bodyweight strength training, 15 minutes flexibility/mobility, and 15 minutes hitting on my weak points to balance out any muscular deviations. Its all about making a plan, and working my plan.”
By Kevin Kohan 22 Jun, 2022
Get healthy from the inside out. Not a patch or potion but real wellness and longevity supported by consistently healthy lifestyle choices. Something we call the 5-Pillars of Health. Plus, our New HIT FIT SUMMER SURVIVAL GUIDE just for your absolute FREE!
By Carolina Kohan 21 Jun, 2022
Stop Sabotaging YOUR GOALS!
More Posts
Share by: