ketsugo
MuscleHead
- Sep 10, 2011
- 2,652
- 486
i dont think one could call 10 mins on a treadmill cardio perse. i am one of those who warms up this way. i walk fast at an incline. is it the best thing, probably not but it works for me. it gets me all sweaty and everything feels good and thats what i need. i usually then do one light set and go on with my workout. if i had any stretching ability, i would probably stretch but i look retarded so im not going to do it
Agreed its in no way shape or form cardio. I warm up for legs same way. For upperbody i do ten minutes on machine with arm attatchments or my sword or kali routine. This way my 45 year old crickety body is all loose warm and ready. On shoulder day i may add few sets of rotator cuff movements. It actually makes me stronger. When done i have my own cardio routine in which i utilize the concepts of both hitt and low intensity for 45 min. Variety is spice o life
ketsugo
MuscleHead
- Sep 10, 2011
- 2,652
- 486
Leg Warmup
There is a battle royale that will always ensue after someone suggests that you stretch before your leg workout. I don’t care to get into that sort of an argument here; although it may be inevitable. I am guilty of stretching before and after my leg workout
If you were to observe others in the gym, whose warm up consists of walking from the parking lot into the gym and then hitting the squat rack with 135 on the bar for one set as a warm up, you’ll notice that even as they progress into their working sets, the first couple sets are not nearly deep enough to be called a squat. My theory behind this is that they simply are not warmed up.
Some might suggest performing moderate cardio for 10 minutes or so. I suggest not doing that. And here is my bizarre thinking behind this. The mind is sharper than we understand. It perceives things and prepares the body for them. It senses tension and releases adrenaline. That’s one example. How many of you can’t stop yawning as you walk into the gym? These things show that your body is preparing for something. I think that warming up for heavy weightlifting by performing the polar opposite of exercises – cardio is the last thing we should be doing. I've never looked up studies to support this, its just one of PoB's crazy thoughts (yeah I did just refer to myself as PoB).
Here’s a quick run through of my warm up routine on leg day.
First – Identify problem areas: Begin with a foam roller. Whatever density is just short of comfortable for you is fine. Lay on the floor on your side with the foam roller just below the hip joint (V. Lat). Roll slowly over it and if you come across knots or painful areas, simply rest on it for about 10 or 15 seconds, then continue to roll. Repeat twice. Then, lay on your stomach face down, with the foam roller across the front of your quads. Roll slowly and if you hit any knots, rest there for 10 to 15 seconds. Repeat this twice. Finally, with the foam roller on the floor, sit on it so the roller runs across the hamstrings. Slowly roll out the hamstrings. If you find knots or problem areas, rest on it for 10 to 15 seconds. Repeat this as many times as you like as hamstrings tend to be a muscle that is generally “tight.”
Second – Hi-Knee March: You may look retarded doing this, but it’s great for getting the hip joints warmed up. It’s pretty much self-explanatory. March in place bringing your knee just above the height of your hips. Do this for 30 seconds. Rest 15 seconds then repeat.
Third – To be honest the rest of this warm up I completely ganked from Dorian Yate so here is the vid lol. The stretching piece ends at 4:05.
This routine gets my legs pretty limbered up and I don’t feel the slightest bit of fatigue afterwards so I’m able to give the squats and deads my all.
----PoB----
Pillar this is an awesome warm up but realistically you arent stretching as warm up lmao. All the beginning is warmed up your body then you are loosening your muscles at exactly the proper time WARM.
Thats perfect .
Its a very extensive fitness routine outlined here. In every major school and circle stretching cold is wrong. Its people that confuse this. Even most martial art schools that thrive on building flexibility perform calisthenics first. In my 40 years of ma training and teaching most injuries occurr from stretching. Static stretching has more and more been proven as poor vehicle to flexibility. Dynamic stretching can actually do cold if done gentle manner however more and more reasearch on stretching verifies all this.
Stretching is most misunderstood aspect of training and fitness however you actually are doing it correct which is after you raise body temp. Never never stretch cold muscle. I myself have torn every major muscle doing this . Although i pursue the path of bujutsu when i was younger i have done karate tae kwon do and muy thai. In korea the birthplace of tkd. A very prestegious dojang would profess never ever stretch before class.
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