Ditch the Commercial Gym Warm Up

-February 3rd, 2012-

I hate training in a Commercial Gym.

However I also love it! I see some of the greatest things happen there, like someone doing Curls in a Squat Rack.

Today’s Friday, so I’m positive when I head to the gym later today that 90% of the guys there will only be training their Chest or Arms (or for those really committed types, both!).

That’s a good thing for me today as I’m doing a lower body workout so the Squat Racks will be empty for me to use all afternoon (unless of course someone is doing their Curls in there!).

One thing I almost never ever see anybody do in a Commercial Gym though is a dynamic warm up. Or any warm up for that matter. At best it’s ride the stationary bike for 5 minutes then get right into their lift.

More often it’s not even that in-depth. It’s kick the feet out a few times while checking their phone, do an arm circle or 2 while putting some weight on a bar and then right into their workout.

Brutal!

You should be preparing your body for the training session ahead (I wrote an entire article on how The Warm Up is The Workout although that is geared more towards pre-practice or games).

The Commercial Gym doesn’t lend itself to getting a complete warm up in mainly due to lack of space. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find a small patch of land in a corner and do some mobility and activation work to prepare for your training session.

Here is the Warm Up that I will do today before my workout and what each exercise works on:

Quad Stretch 6 Reps Each (Quad Flexibility)

Warrior Lunge 6 Reps Each (Hip Mobility)

Toe Touches 6 Reps Each (Hamstring Flexibility)

Hip Lift 6 Reps Each (Glute Activation)

Elbow to Instep Lunge w Rotation 6 Reps Each (Hip Mobility, Glute Stretch, Thoracic Spine Mobility)

Wall Slides 20 Reps (Scapular Stability, Posture, Shoulder Mobility)

Straight Leg March 6 Reps Each (A More Dynamic Hamstring Flexibility Exercise)

Handwalks 3 Reps (Core and Shoulder Stability, Hamstring Flexibility)

That’s it. I won’t need much space and it’ll take me 5 minutes max. I’ll prepare my body to workout and that way will maximize every set I do right from the start. Also improving my flexibility/mobility/stability is what will keep me pain free and healthy in the future.

Ditch the Commercial Gym Warm Up and do something that will benefit you both long and short term. You may feel stupid and you stand out and look out of place, but that feeling will go away in time.

And eventually, when you realize just how important the warm up is and see the results of consistent flexibility and mobility work, it’ll be the people not doing a warm up that look stupid to you!

Tags: commercial gym, dynamic warm up, flexibility, mobility, muscle activation, stability