05/09/2013

Bodybuilding.com - Five To Thrive: The Five-Move Full-Body Warm-Up

FREE GIFT!

A NY OR D ER OV ER

75

24/7 Customer Service 1-877-991-3411

Contact Us

Need Help? in:

View Cart

Discounts & Deals - Sign Up!

Search
Like 1,717,911 people like this.

Whole Site

Find A Plan
Home Main Programs

Store
Stretching

BodySpace
Exercises Cardio

Workouts
Muscle Groups

Nutrition

Supplementation
Gyms

Motivation

Forum

More...
Personal Trainers Research Tracking

Tips and Advice

Health Conditions

Age and Gender

Workouts

Tips and Advice

Warming Up

Five To Thrive: The Five-Move Full-Body Warm-Up

5 MOVES TO A PERFECT WARMUP!

USE THE LAST 10 MINUTES BEFORE YOU TRAIN AS A DYNAMIC WARM-UP AND PERFORM BETTER IN ANY SETTING!
TIPS AND ADVICE Beginning Bodybuilding Basics How Bodybuilding Helps Increasing Intensity Lagging Body Parts Myths Negative Reps Plateau Busting Reps And Sets

FREE
Customized Massive Online Track Your
Progress Community Content

JOIN NOW

Sign Up

AS H LE Y H O RN E R
A S HLE Y HORNE R

Member Login
USERNAME / EMAIL PASSWORD
Remember Me

Your gym coach knew the importance of a movement-based warm-up. These five techniques make your body limber, mobile, and ready for action!
by Matt Biss Sep 04, 2013

30
Tw eet

18
Like

EMAIL MORE

Log In

Forgot Login Info?

SHARE

BodySpace Activity
shynatka tracked the workout: CARDIO.

It's been said that strength is the base of all athleticism. Before you are able to pick up an object for 30 repetitions or carry it for 100 metersthe logic goesyou first must be able to lift it once. Ipso facto, strength before all!

dannydimes added 4 new photos to their photo gallery.

www.bodybuilding.com/fun/five-to-thrive-the-5-move-full-body-warm-up.html

1/11

05/09/2013

Bodybuilding.com - Five To Thrive: The Five-Move Full-Body Warm-Up

School And College Stretching Sum m er Specific Fall Specific Winter Specific Spring Specific Top Ten Tips Training Frequency Training Mistakes Training Partners Training Questions and Answ ers Training Tips Traveling Tips Warm ing Up

On the other hand, before you can lift that object even once, you have to be able to get into a safe position to lift it. Otherwise, someone might soon be picking you up, like the object you are, and carrying you to safety. That's why I say mobility before strengthand I mean it literally. Train mobility in the minutes leading up to your strength training, and you'll have better access to the strength in powerful areas like the hips, shoulders, and glutes. I've heard the retort that lions don't warm up before they take down a zebra. True, but they aren't sitting at a desk all day either. Most of us have postural imbalances and tight tissues that need to be corrected. These are easy enough to ignore when we're at work, but they hold us back big-time when we train and compete. If you can't perform a movement correctly, then you're not getting better at that movement, plain and simple. Don't let dysfunction win. Help your whole body feel and move better in just 10-15 minutes with these five simple, awesome warm-up drills.

akadjj updated his motivation level from 10/10 to 9/10.

View All

STEP 1: HIP COMPLEX FOAM ROLL, 2-5 MINUTES

Whether with a foam roller, textured rumble roller, or lacrosse ball, this area needs to be hit hard. Begin prone (face-down on the ground), with the foam roller under your quad, and find the tightest and tenderest area in the belly of the muscle. Relax as you use your body weight to apply pressure for about 30 seconds.

www.bodybuilding.com/fun/five-to-thrive-the-5-move-full-body-warm-up.html

2/11

05/09/2013

Bodybuilding.com - Five To Thrive: The Five-Move Full-Body Warm-Up

Roll to the top of the leg and attempt to put pressure onto your hip flexors, which are located just inside of and below your hip bone. You may need to turn to the side slightly in order to gain access. Do the same thing here, find the tenderest area and mash it. After 30 seconds, roll on to the outside of your leg. Move your implement into the meat of your IT band and go through the same process. Then repeat the entire process for your other leg.

STEP 2: SHOULDER FOAM ROLL, 2-5 MINUTES

Do you look like a troll when you walk, with your shoulders slumped forward and internally rotated? If so, this will especially help you. Our shoulders are supposed to be mobile joints, but most of us have about as much range of motion as the Tin Man after a night standing in the rain. Begin on your back with the roller or ball under the rear of the shoulder. Hit the posterior shoulder girdle, where the arm plugs into the upper back. Then roll down onto the ribs and smash your lat for a short time. From here, work your way back up into the armpit. Any time you find something painful,
www.bodybuilding.com/fun/five-to-thrive-the-5-move-full-body-warm-up.html 3/11

05/09/2013

Bodybuilding.com - Five To Thrive: The Five-Move Full-Body Warm-Up

stop there for at least 30 seconds. Finally, roll over and smash the area where your chest meets your shoulder. A couple of minutes here can dramatically improve shoulder mobility. For fun, just do one side and then compare range of motion between your two arms by reaching overhead or behind your back.

STEP 3: WORLD'S GREATEST STRETCH, 10 SECONDS IN EACH POSITION

Whoever came up for the title with this yogaderived stretch was pretty bold. But with everyone from yoga instructors to elite NFL trainers now recommending it by name, the movement has earned your consideration. Lo and behold, it's pretty great, even if it's not exactly accurate to call it "a stretch." It's more like three stretches, but between them, you hit everything from your ankles to your lats.

THE WORLD'S GREATEST STRETCH

WATCH THE VIDEO - 01:21

www.bodybuilding.com/fun/five-to-thrive-the-5-move-full-body-warm-up.html

4/11

05/09/2013

Bodybuilding.com - Five To Thrive: The Five-Move Full-Body Warm-Up

There are a few other variations of this stretch you can progress toward once you're confident, including one with thoracic rotation similar to a T-push-up during the middle lunge. Until then, the basic version can do you a lot of good.

STEP 4: GLUTE BRIDGE, 20 REPS

First off: Make sure that when you do these, you wear stretchy pants. Also make sure that you situate yourself somewhere where you're able to watch your form in a mirror. Got it? Good. The glute bridge is going to do a couple things for you right off of the bat. First, it's going to help you activate the hamstrings and glutes with a few powerful contractions, so they're ready to work hard while you train.

www.bodybuilding.com/fun/five-to-thrive-the-5-move-full-body-warm-up.html

5/11

05/09/2013

Bodybuilding.com - Five To Thrive: The Five-Move Full-Body Warm-Up

I know some people say that "activate" is a misnomer here, because your glutes couldn't be inactive if you're physically able to achieve the hip extension at the top of a glute bridge. I get it, but I don't think it's an effective argument against the movement. By doing glute bridges, we warm up an area that is directly tied to muscular power and our ability to put it into action. It gets us thinking about them, establishing that mind-muscle connection. Also, the movement works as an active stretch for the anterior hip. If step one of our warm-up didn't make it clear: The front side of the hip is a problem area for the majority of the population.

STEP 5: BURPEE BOX JUMP, 10 REPS

The burpee will serve as a good general warm-up, especially with a little plyometrics included. However, most people only jump about two inches off the ground when doing a burpee. You aren't going to get much benefit from a jump that wouldn't clear a rope, so I prefer to jump to a box. It doesn't have to be high; you're warming up, not showing off. Just jump to something.
www.bodybuilding.com/fun/five-to-thrive-the-5-move-full-body-warm-up.html 6/11

05/09/2013

Bodybuilding.com - Five To Thrive: The Five-Move Full-Body Warm-Up

Five to Thrive: Warm-up

Hip Complex Foam Roll 2-5 minutes Shoulder Foam Roll 2-5 minutes The World's Greatest Stretch 10 seconds in each position Barbell Glute Bridge 20 reps Burpee Box Jump 10 reps

www.bodybuilding.com/fun/five-to-thrive-the-5-move-full-body-warm-up.html

7/11

05/09/2013

Bodybuilding.com - Five To Thrive: The Five-Move Full-Body Warm-Up

Printable Page

PDF Document

REL ATED ARTICL ES

Articles Main Page Articles Main Page 9 Fun And Effective Ways To Warm Up
View All Warming Up Articles

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Matt Biss
VIEW AUTHOR PAGE

Matt is the Training and Nutrition Specialist for Bodybuilding.com. He has studied Exercise Science and is a competitive strength athlete.
View All Articles By This Author

RATE THIS ARTICLE

OVERALL RATING POOR

9 10

N/A

Out of 10
1 Ratings

EX C EL L ENT

4 Comments
www.bodybuilding.com/fun/five-to-thrive-the-5-move-full-body-warm-up.html 8/11

05/09/2013

Bodybuilding.com - Five To Thrive: The Five-Move Full-Body Warm-Up

Showing 1 - 4 of 4 Comments

1 Previous

Next

Follow This Discussion by:

Email

COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE

Add a comment

Log In to Comment

(5 characters minimum) notify me when users reply to my comment

ryanbr6
Great concise and informative article, Matt. Some people don't understand the importance of good stretching. One of those controversial things.
Rep Power: 10 Sep 4, 2013 6:56pm | report

Body Stats
ht: 5'9" wt: 179.6 lbs

wpalma
I agree with you.
Sep 4, 2013 8:24pm | report

Body Stats
ht: 5'3" wt: 138.5 lbs bf: 8.0%

Rep Power: 10

NatAlt
I must admit, I'm one of those people who hates warming up and stretching, so I need constant reminders of why it's so important! Thanks Matt.
Rep Power: 32323 Sep 5, 2013 2:06am | report

Body Stats
ht: 5'4" wt: 128 lbs bf: 24.0%

www.bodybuilding.com/fun/five-to-thrive-the-5-move-full-body-warm-up.html

9/11

05/09/2013

Bodybuilding.com - Five To Thrive: The Five-Move Full-Body Warm-Up

Joedzilla
i will add the stretch to my routines, my warm up is ride mu bike to the gym, 5k ride, for me works pretty well and i love to ride my bike, when i get to the gym i am already ready to do heavy stuff. :-)
Rep Power: 10 Sep 5, 2013 7:21am | report

Body Stats
ht: 5'10" wt: 181.5 lbs bf: 12.0%

Showing 1 - 4 of 4 Comments

1 Previous

Next

F EATURED PRODUCT

BodySpace - Join FREE!

BodySpace is YOUR key to success! Create a profile, meet others, track your progress and much more!
Learn More about BodySpace - Join FREE!!

Infor m a tion. Motiva tion. Supple m e nta tion.

Give Us Feedback: Report A Problem Site Feedback

Follow Us: Tw itter Facebook RSS Feeds

Bodybuilding.com New sletter Receive exciting features, new s & special offers from Bodybuilding.com
Enter your e-mail address

Home | Store | Products | Careers | Help | Contact Us | Terms of Use | About Us | Checkout | Site Map | Advertise With Us | Affiliates 2013 BodyBuilding.com, LLC. All rights reserved. BodyBuilding.com sm and BodySpace are trademarks of BodyBuilding.com, LLC.
www.bodybuilding.com/fun/five-to-thrive-the-5-move-full-body-warm-up.html 10/11

05/09/2013

Bodybuilding.com - Five To Thrive: The Five-Move Full-Body Warm-Up

Bodybuilding.com, 2026 S Silverstone Way, Meridian, ID 83642 USA - 1-877-991-3411

www.bodybuilding.com/fun/five-to-thrive-the-5-move-full-body-warm-up.html

11/11