Warming up for strength training is not what you think it is.
The literature will make you believe that you need to "warm-up" your body temperature before physical activity to a) prevent injury, and b) elevate your heart rate in the neccessity of breaking a sweat to be ready for action.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Firstly, many lifters waste their time by going through a series of warm-up activities such as a running on a treadmill and stretching in order to "get their body ready" for lifting. It is safe to say that both activities do not contribute anything to the main physical expression of lifting weights: force production.
Secondly, you will not find a single piece of evidence that would suggest that "warming up" in the classic sense will prevent you from possibly getting hurt during strength training.
What GETS you hurt is poor form, poor programming, a poor diet, and poor recovery.
"Warming up" in strength training serves three main purposes:
Practicing the movements for the purpose of better technique
Increasing your capacity to produce and handle force by your muscles, nerves, and tendons
Telling your brain that an increasingly heavier load is coming.
That's it.
Warming up, as such, is priming you for what you are about to do next.
Below is a sample structure on how to set up your warm-up for your lifts.
Please note that this is approximate and does not represent 100% exact science.
Below is a sample warm-up for two different exercises:
Final words:
The warm-up is there to improve your technique on your lifts and prime your nervous system and brain for what is to come next.
Simple as that.
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