When starting your workout, making sure you have a proper warmup is important for you to get the most out of your training session. Equally important is your cooldown, taking this time aids in recovery and helps drive your progress.
The Warm Up
The warm-up consists of two factors, your muscles and joints. By activating one, you activate the other. The goal for your warmup is to get blood flowing throughout your body and to increase your heart rate. Warming up primes the body to train at your highest strength levels. Going into a workout cold can cause the fibers with a muscle to shut down due to the sudden shock of movement causing you to be weaker than you were. Going into a workout cold can also cause injuries.
Muscle
From head to toe, your body needs some activity to let it know it’s about to start moving. Warming up the muscle is the driving factor in hitting your working weight for any given movement. Take Football for example, if you’ve played or gone to any games, you see the players doing some form of programming to warm up their muscles. The best part is they’re using their body weight to get to where they need to be. Your warmup is there to help start the muscle activation process.
Depending on the type of workout split you have, you can also choose a movement specific to the body part you’re training that day. Let’s say you’re training your chest. You can start with a chest fly on a bench or the floor if you don’t have a bench, and start with a lightweight to perform the Dumbbell Chest Fly. Do 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps, adding weight to each set, to get you ready for your chest workout.
Joint
Warming up your joints is very similar to warming up muscle, with one exception, you have to take into consideration the compound movements you’ll perform. Most compound exercises will involve at least two different joints. Continuing with the chest example, the chest fly will warm up the shoulder joint; but it won’t include warming up the elbow. Let’s go back to our Football Players, as mentioned above, they use their body to warm up. Continuing with this, your ideal warmup is push-ups, modifying them as needed. Performing 2-3 sets of 10-15 push-ups will work perfectly for this.
Warmup types
There are three different categories of warmups that you can perform, two before your workout and one during. The first pre-workout warmup is Isolation, discussed in the example above, and the second is Full Body. The warmups you do during your workout are called Feeler Sets. All three categories are important to understand and implement in your training.
Isolation
Isolation warmups are perfect for targeting a specific muscle group. Similar to the chest warm-up above. Focusing on the muscle group and joints that are your primary movers for the day. Typically you want to perform 2-3 sets of the movement, with lighter weight and higher reps.
In the chest warm-up example above, the rep range was 12-15 reps. Since the goal is to help wake up the muscle and get it warm, you don’t want to do a weight that you can do only 15 reps with. When choosing a weight, think about the reps you’re going to perform and double them. For this type of warmup you’ll be performing 15 reps, so choose a weight you can perform 30 reps with. This way we can stimulate the muscle enough to wake the targeted area up and activate the cells within the muscle to fire properly and with as much force as possible. Now for your second and third set, you want to increase the weight ever so slightly, 5 to maybe 10 pounds. This way your targeted muscle group is slowly getting used to the weight and waking up to perform for your workout.
Full Body
The next pre-workout warmup is a Full Body warmup. This specific warmup is meant to get the heart rate up and activate every muscle in your body. This warmup is great for hitting a full-body session, a half-body session, or an isolation session. Since this type is focused on the body as a whole, it’s best performed with just your body weight. The ideal Full-body warmup will typically involve all 3 plans of motion, the directions in which our bodies can move, and will combine them within the movements. A great example of a Full Body warmup can be found here, on the PowerBlock YouTube channel.
Feeler Sets
The final type of warmup is performed during your workout, this type of warmup many refer to as Feeler Sets. Feeler Sets are sets that help you work up to your working or most intense sets. Typically feeler sets will be within the first three movements of an isolation training session, like a chest or back day, after you get your warmup done. The first movement will have 3 feeler sets, the second have 2 feeler sets, and the third can have 1 feeler set but may not be necessary depending on how warm you’re feeling. Each feeler set is only 5 reps so you aren’t wasting energy before getting to your heavier sets. Similar to the isolation warmup, you want to start lighter with your feeler sets. Let's say you can currently move 100 lbs for your bench press, after your warmup of chest flies, you start your feeler sets for your bench press. You’d ideally want to start with 60-70 lbs for your feeler sets, increasing by 10-15 lbs for each feeler set. Once you’ve finished your feeler sets, you’re primed for your heavier sets at 100 lbs. With PowerBlocks, it’s easy to perform feeler sets without going back to the rack. Start with the selector pin on the 100 lb setting and move the selector pin up to your desired weight for your first feeler set. After the set, place the dumbbells back into the rest of the weights, select the next feeler set weight, and repeat. Repeat this process until you feel ready for the full 100 lb dumbbell and your working set.
Common Warmup Mistakes
The two biggest warm-up mistakes are starting with too heavy of weight, static stretching before training, and skipping the warm-up entirely.
Starting with Too Heavy of Weight
Our muscles need time to warm up for any movement. The makeup of our muscles helps tell our nervous system how much load we are taking on. Instantly jumping into a heavier warm-up can cause this makeup to tell the nerves that something is wrong. In turn, this makes you weaker in this training session. By starting with a lighter weight to warm up, you give your muscles a chance to communicate properly with your nerves about the load you are taking on.
Static Stretching Before Training
There's a misconception that static stretching before training prevents injuries. However, holding long stretches before workouts can temporarily decrease muscle strength and performance, especially in strength or power-based exercises. Instead, dynamic stretching and mobility drills should be incorporated, which enhance blood flow, activate muscles, and improve range of motion in preparation for the workout. For example, opt for leg swings, hip openers, or shoulder rolls.
Skipping the Warm-Up Entirely
People often skip warm-ups to save time or because they don’t see the value. This can lead to poor performance, increased risk of injury, and suboptimal movement patterns as muscles and joints are not prepared for the demands of training. Prioritize even a short warm-up (5-10 minutes) focusing on dynamic movements that mimic the exercises to come, such as bodyweight squats, lunges, or arm circles.
The Cool Down
After your workout, it’s important to do some form of cooldown. It helps with recovery from your session and can improve your flexibility and relaxation. There are 3 primary types of cooldowns you can perform; Active Recovery, Stretching, and Breathing.
Active Recovery
Active Recovery is exactly as it sounds, doing something active after your workout. This activity is low intensity and helps lower the heart rate from a high BPM to a medium BPM. Walking, cycling, or yoga are great ways to get some active recovery post-workout. Now this portion of your workout doesn’t have to be as long as the workout itself, 10-15 minutes will work perfectly. Your goal is to keep your heart rate slightly elevated to keep blood flowing. This in turn helps with nutrient delivery to your muscles and helps get rid of metabolic waste like lactic acid, resulting in a faster recovery time for you.
Stretching
Stretching for your cooldown is another great way to recover from your workout. Stretching post-workout helps with improving flexibility and mobility. The other benefit of stretching post-workout is that your body is already warm from your training session, thus making your muscles more mobile so you can get deeper into the stretch. During training, our primary focus is to shorten muscle through its range of motion, so it’s equally important to spend some time stretching and lengthening muscle through its range of motion. Stretch each portion of your body for 6-10 seconds and do 2-3 reps for each stretch. This in turn helps with soreness, stiffness, and overall mobility for our muscles and joints.
Breathing
Breathing on its own doesn’t quite sound like an effective cooldown method, but it is. Mindful breathing helps with bringing your heart rate and blood pressure back down to base level. It also helps with supporting the parasympathetic nervous system, the part of our nervous system responsible for rest and digestion. This in turn starts the recovery process and aids in feeling a sense of calm post-workout. For breathing, perform the Box Breathing method. Breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, then breathe out for 4 seconds and repeat. Perform this for as many times as it takes for you to feel like your heart rate has decreased and your body has relaxed. It may start at a higher rep count, but as you go through your fitness journey, your body will start to relax faster.
Common Cool Down Mistakes
Cooling down after a workout is a vital step that’s often overlooked or rushed, yet it plays a key role in recovery and overall performance. Avoid common mistakes during your cool-down routine, rushing through, neglecting targeted stretches, and skipping it entirely. Cooling down can help you reduce muscle soreness, improve flexibility, and prepare your body for future training sessions.
Rushing Through
A lack of patience or understanding of the importance of gradual recovery leads to a hurried process. This reduces the effectiveness of the cool-down, leaving muscles tight and the nervous system still in a heightened state. Perform each stretch or recovery activity mindfully, holding static stretches for at least 20–30 seconds and focusing on deep, controlled breathing to relax your body.
Neglecting Targeted Stretches
People either skip stretching or perform generic stretches that don’t target the muscles they worked on. This limits recovery and can lead to muscle imbalances or tightness over time. Focus on static stretches for the specific muscles you trained. For example, stretch the quads, hamstrings, and calves after leg day, or the shoulders and chest after upper body sessions.
Skipping the Cool Down Entirely
People often rush out after a workout, thinking they’re done as soon as the last rep is complete. This can lead to increased muscle soreness, slower recovery, and reduced flexibility. Your heart rate and nervous system need time to transition back to a resting state safely. Dedicate 5–10 minutes to a proper cool-down, including light cardio (e.g., walking) and stretches to aid recovery.
How Proper Warmups & Cooldowns Help Prevent Injuries
Proper warm-up and cool-down are non-negotiable steps in any workout. They offer more than just preparation and recovery; they’re essential for preventing injuries and maximizing your results. Taking the time to activate your muscles, prime your joints, and gradually ease your body back to rest can reduce soreness, enhance flexibility, and improve your overall performance. By committing to these practices, you’ll not only stay safer during your training but also enjoy the long-term benefits of a stronger, healthier body.
