Pre-Workout Routine
A proper warm-up is all about getting your body ready for the workout to come. In large part, that means your joints and connective tissue. A good warm-up will start to get these “loose” and lubricated. Also, getting some blood into the area is a prime way to prevent injury. If you want to get through life without developing tendonitis, stop skipping your warm up.
This is to be done BEFORE your weight training workouts; it should take about 10 min. This can also be done as a simple bodyweight circuit when you don’t have access to a gym. Just set a clock for 30 minutes and complete as many rounds as you can.
For volume, you can implement this a couple of ways: You can perform each movement for about 60 seconds or you can designate a number of reps to complete for each exercise.
Exercises:
- Tactical Frog (0:17)
- Cat/Cow Pose (1:50)
- Side-lying Clam (2:45)
- Glute Thrust (3:32)
- Angry Gecko (4:07)
- Quadruped Hip Circle (4:54)
- Standing Knee Raise (5:54)
- Inchworm (6:51)
- Squat-to-Stand (7:46)
- Spiderman Lunge (8:32)
- Thoracic Rotation (9:36)
Post-Workout Routine
Take some time to give your body some love after the workout; stretching and foam rolling can break tension in the muscles and mitigate soreness. While it might hurt a bit while you’re doing it, it’ll alleviate pain and tightness down the line, preventing future injury.
The routine begins with stretching. The idea is really to slow down immediately after the training and focus on deep breaths as you stretch out for a few minutes. This helps shift from a sympathetic to a parasympathetic state; this is ideal for recovery.
After a couple minutes, the next step would be to start the self- myofasical release (SMR) exercises.
How does SMR work?
By applying pressure at the knot, the elastic fibers move from their bundled position back towards their true alignment. We are then able to get into lengthening body positions with better alignment, restoring proper movement patterns.
The rolling also enhances flexibility and range of motion, improves muscle imbalances, boosts blood circulation, and reduces the risk of injury. If you’re a weekly desk warrior, your hips, shoulders, and low back will appreciate the time you put into this routine.
(To work a specific area intensely, swap in a lacrosse ball for a foam roller, although, as you’ll see in the video, some areas just make more sense for a ball.)
EXERCISES:
Stretches
- Child’s Pose (0:15)
- Pretzel (1:08)
- Frog Squat (3:13)
- Hamstrings (4:06)
SMR
- Quadriceps (5:18)
- IT Band (6:08)
- Hamstrings (6:46)
- Hips (7:24)
- Shoulder/Chest (8:18)
- Upper Back (9:23)
- Lower Back (10:00)
Recommended Equipment
Foam roller
You’ll also be using a foam roller regularly as part of your cool-down or as an active recovery method.
Amazon has a variety of different options, although I like their basic high-density foam roller.
Baseball/Lacrosse Ball
You can also find this on Amazon, if you don’t own one. Having a ball will allow you to dig in deeper to certain spots and areas within the body that the foam roller may miss.