I DEA FI TNESS EDGE/ APRI L- MAY 2002

O
nce upon a time, group tness
instructors started their
strength training classes with a
relatively static warm-up that consisted
of single-joint movements, such as head
circles, shoulder rolls backwards and
forwards, and hip swings side to side.
As the industry progressed, warm-ups
became more varied and we branched
outmaybe too far out! Todays warm-
up options range from no warm-up at all
to 10-minute, low-impact cardio warm-
ups, with many variations in between.
Whats a strength training teacher to
do with so many conicting choices? Is
one type of warm-up more effective or
more practical than another? Does it de-
pend on the relative weight lifted or the
class level? As is the case with most resis-
tance training information, there may
be no clear-cut answers to these questions.
In the absence of hard data, we inter-
viewed several high-prole group strength
training teachers to get their ideas and
suggestions for creating effective, up-to-
date strength training warm-ups.
Why Warm Up When
Working With Weights?
We know that to prepare the muscles
and connective tissues for the physical
challenges of any workout, we need
to include in the warm-up component
movement patterns that will actually
be performed in the body of the class
(American Council on Exercise [ACE]
1993). This neuromuscular approach,
often referred to as the rehearsal effect,
is used by many instructors teaching
group strength training classes today.
I still believe muscles and the body
need to be warmed up for the work-
out, says Sherri McMillan, MSc,
owner of NorthWest Personal Training
and Fitness Education in Vancouver,
Washington. The body will perform
much better if sufciently prepared.
Dody Benko Livingston, a group
tness instructor and personal trainer
based in Santa Barbara, California,
considers neuromuscular learning, or
coordination, the highest priority of the
warm-up. My goal in the warm-up is
to teach technique and form, she says.
By the time Ive got my group to focus
on safe range of motion (ROM), the
path of motion, shoulder retraction,
spinal alignment and which muscles
are moving versus which are stabilizing,
we have increased the core body tem-
perature. I nd the warm-up to be a
critical time to assess the participants
levels and abilities. As they warm up
without load, I am mentally revising
or afrming my class design based on
the form I am seeing.
The Physiological Benets
to Warming Up
Regardless of the intensity of the work-
out to be performed, the warm-up pro-
vides a smooth transition from
inactivity to activity. An effective warm-
up stimulates the cardiorespiratory and
neuromuscular systems, as well as the
metabolic energy pathways. This stimu-
lation results in a gradual increase in
heart rate, stroke volume, blood ow,
cardiac output and breathing rate (ACE
1993). At the same time, body temper-
ature gradually increases and blood
ow to the working muscles is slowly
redistributed.
Oxygen exchange between blood and
muscles increases, and carbon dioxide
elimination is enhanced. The metabolic
rate increases, which in turn leads to
more efcient calorie burning. This
improvement in energy production,
which limits lactic acid buildup, allows
participants to work out longer, since
their energy systems adjust more readily
to exercise (ACE 1993).
The physiological manifestations of
a warm-up also include the following:
increased secretion of synovial uid
in the joints, which prepares the body
for more strenuous activity
improved joint ROM
improved elasticity of muscles and
connective tissue, which decreases the
risk of acute injuries to soft tissues
increased force and speed of muscular
contractions
improved speed and sensitivity
of neural message pathways to the
muscles, resulting in better muscle
control and reactivity
Strength Training
Class Warm-Ups
By Fred Hoffman movement
I DEA FI TNESS EDGE/ APRI L- MAY 2002
increased arousal and greater focus
on exercise, resulting in psychological
preparation for higher intensities
(ACE 1993)
Whats the Best
Warm-Up Format?
There is a general consensus among
those interviewed for this article that
before formatting any warm-up, you
rst need to determine the goal of the
class and evaluate the targeted popula-
tion. After completing those steps,
many instructors start their resistance
training classes with some full-body,
rhythmic, continuous movement.
We begin with basic marches, step-
touches and grapevines with [a resis-
tance ball] in hand to elevate the core
temperature, says Mike Morris, presi-
dent of Resist-A-Ball Inc. and a per-
sonal trainer certied by the National
Academy of Sports Medicine.
Leigh Crews, a Reebok University
program developer and master trainer,
begins her client sessions with gross
motor movements designed to elevate
the heart rate and warm up joints and
muscles. She feels it is not necessary to
incorporate traveling patterns, since a
strength training workout is stationary
in nature. Instead, she emphasizes large
ROM movements and long lever arm
patterns and simple footwork, such as
side lunges and squats.
Beate Missalek, a tness professional
based in Germany, organizes her resis-
tance training warm-up sessions in a
logical order from small to bigger move-
ments, from stationary to moving, from
single-plane to multiplane movements.
Benko Livingston also designs her
warm-ups to include multijoint, non-
combo movements. She rarelyif
everadds resistance during this part
of her strength training classes. We
cant teach technique with a load, she
stresses. Forget choreography and
adding weight. Teach the move before
moving on.
According to Jessica Smith, ME,
in her article Strength Training for
Women, (IDEA Health & Fitness
Source, May 2001), The warm-up
should consist of low-intensity aerobics,
walking, stationary cycling or jogging
in place, followed by stretching and
some specic, low-intensity resistance
training exercises targeting the major
muscle groups.
Most experts agree that if low-impact,
dynamic movements are incorporated
into the warm-up, they should be kept
simple and not too choreographed,
since choreography is not essential in
strength training sessions. Instructors
may also nd that participants in a
strength training class may be uncom-
fortable with choreographed movement
patterns and could become discouraged.
Working in Function
What better place is there than the
warm-up for creating a more functional
body that performs well? Why not
include movements for stabilization,
strength and exibility?
When teaching a functional strength
class, Crews includes in the warm-up
a multijoint activity that mimics some
important aspects of the class. I use
multiplanar moves, such as diagonal
patterns and slow rotations, as well as
some simple balance challenges to en-
gage core musculature.
Missalek likes to add some balance
and stabilization work performed in
the standing position to increase body
awareness and prepare the core muscles
for the workload to come.
A useful approach when teaching a
strength training class that includes in-
tegrated exercises (combining two or
more moves) is to warm up with a more
nontraditional movement sequence.
A good example is the Ashtanga yoga
Sun Salutation, which emphasizes neu-
tral posture and active, internal stabi-
lization of the torso. Through repetition,
this sequence of yoga poses enhances
coordination and produces efciency
in movement. Another important as-
pect of this type of warm-up is that it
promotes total-body integration through
closed-chain (weight-bearing) exercises.
It also prepares the body to be functional,
strong and ready. Some instructors
precede this nontraditional warm-up
sequence with some traditional dynamic
movement, thus combining Eastern and
Western philosophies.
We Like Equipment!
More and more strength training classes
incorporate some type of equipment,
from weighted bars to small hand
weights, barbells, stability and medicine
balls, tubing and bands. The question
is, Should we incorporate this equip-
ment during the warm-up?
According to Crew, If I am teaching
a more traditional strength training
class, with the emphasis on heavier
weight and multiple sets of eight to
12 repetitions, my warm-up is usually a
general cardio, gross-muscle movement
type of warm-up, emphasizing ROM,
so that I can use that portion of the
warm-up as a sort of assessment tool
to evaluate the mobility of my clientele.
After the general warm-up, I like to
do one set of a specic exercise using
relatively light weight, again to assess
the ability of the group. This also helps
participants develop correct motor
patterns before loading the joints with
heavier weight.
Missalek suggests that the rst two
to four repetitions in the warm-up set
be performed in a slower manner to
focus on technique and body posture.
Morris continues his warm-up with
specic dumbbell training, starting with
multiple-joint movements. To neuro-
logically connect, he performs a partic-
ular exercise using little or no weight.
He then recommends upping the inten-
sity by increasing load, number of repe-
titions or speed or by decreasing rest
between sets. Moving to the next exer-
I DEA FI TNESS EDGE/ APRI L- MAY 2002
cise of choice, he repeats the whole
process. His progression moves from
larger muscle groups and multiple-joint
movements (e.g., squat, lunge, chest
press, shoulder press and lat row) to
smaller muscles and single-joint move-
ments (e.g., knee extension, hamstring
curl, triceps press and biceps curl).
In his book Your Personal Trainer
(Human Kinetics, 1999), Douglas
Brooks, MS, suggests, If youre going
to lift weights, use exercise that warms
the whole body. . . . Its a good idea to
start with lighter weights or resistance
when strength training and progress
to heavier weights. Lighter resistance
can serve as a warm-up by itself, but
to most effectively prepare your mus-
cles for safe, effective and injury-free
strength training, use both [i.e., warm
the whole body and use lighter weights
to start].
Should We Stretch, Too?
Although the jury is still out on this,
most research has found that stretching
before exercise, especially static stretch-
ing, does not necessarily prevent in-
juries (Pope et al. 2000; Shrier 1999).
However, some experts have concluded
that clients who perform an active
warm-up prior to stretching obtain the
greatest ROM (Shrier & Gossal 2000).
Morris always includes a combina-
tion of active, passive and dynamic
stretches in the warm-up segment of
his resistance training classes. Both
Crews and Missalek believe that adding
multijoint dynamic stretches to the
warm-up not only increases ROM
around the joints but also keeps the
heart rate elevated and contributes
to the warming process.
Does Music Matter?
According to Bob Sewak, PhD, a
Delray Beach, Florida, researcher who
studies the effect of music on the
human organism, Music can create
more psychophysiological shifts than
any other stimuli that we know. The
music choice can be a vital and moti-
vating factor in any type of group exer-
cise and may set the tone for the class.
It may also be one of the reasons your
participants perform at a high level
during the class.
Music speed, or beats per minute
(bpm), in strength training classes
should allow for full ROM. Crews likes
to be directed by the beat. I try to
pick music that is high energy and that
the vast majority of the group will like
and be energized by, she says.
McMillan uses 125 bpm and also
likes to work on the beat. According
to Missalek, who prefers 124 to 128
bpm, You can be on the beat, but you
dont necessarily have to stay on it.
Her music choices vary from current,
pop, top-40 music to a more New
Age sound.
Teachers Tips
The experts interviewed for this article
share the following suggestions for
enhancing your own strength training
warm-up sessions:
Start by welcoming your participants
and conrming that they are in the
desired class.
Use the warm-up to introduce verbal
and visual cues, class-specic termi-
nology, combination-building tech-
niques and safety recommendations.
Design a warm-up component
that is anywhere from six to 10
minutes long.
T h r e e D i f f e r e n t W a r m - U p A p p r o a c h e s
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Industry experts offer these warm-up suggestions designed to enhance your
strength training classes:
From Sherri McMillan, MSc:
Perform hip extensions, hip exions, hip abductions, knee extensions and knee
exions while simultaneously performing overhead shoulder presses, lat pull-downs,
chest presses, biceps curls and triceps kickbacks. Add in some mini-squats and
mini-lunges. Perform eight to 15 repetitions of each of these movements.
Perform the above movements to take the major joints through the full ROM, and
include other exercises that mimic any of the movements that will be used in class,
without adding resistance.
Keep warm-up movements simple, athletic and very deliberate.
From Leigh Crews:
Start warm-up sessions with four-part yoga breathing (begin in mountain pose, raise
arms overhead, then bring them down as if in prayer; slowly rotate the body to the
right, then to the left, while holding hands in prayer position; rotate back to center,
extend arms overhead again, then circle the arms down to the side).
Combine mini-lunges with side squats.
Include traveling side squats.
From Beate Missalek:
Double step-touch to the right, with right arm moving diagonally up and out; end in
single-leg stand.
Next, lift the left leg in abduction, ex the right elbow and left knee together in front of
the body, then extend; or perform a single-leg stand with knee extension and exion,
arms moving in a biceps curl. Repeat on opposite side of body.
I DEA FI TNESS EDGE/ APRI L- MAY 2002
reactions and results if you include
this component. So get started . . .
with the warm-up!
Fred Hoffman has been teaching group
tness classes for more than 20 years.
A Paris-based registered respiratory
therapist, he holds a masters degree in
health education. He is a Reebok global
master trainer and an international pre-
senter and lecturer who has taught in
more than 45 countries.
2002 by IDEA Health & Fitness Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited.
References
Aerobics and Fitness Association of America
(AFAA). 1993. FITNESS Theory & Practice.
AFAA and Reebok University Press.
American Council on Exercise (ACE). 1993.
Aerobics Instructor Manual. ACE and Reebok
University Press.
ACE. 1997. Warm up to work out. ACE Fitness
Matters, 3 (1).
ACE. 2001. Jogging on a blue note: Using the
musical edge. ACE Fitness Matters, 7 (2).
Asp, K. 2001. The role of stretching exercises:
From warm-ups to cool-downs. IDEA Fitness
Edge, 4 (5).
Brooks, D. 1999. Your Personal Trainer.
Human Kinetics.
Pope, R., et al. 2000. A randomized trial of
preexercise stretching for prevention of lower
limb injury. Medicine & Science in Sports &
Exercise, 32, 271-7.
Reebok. 1996. Reebok Flexible Strength
Manual. Reebok International.
Shrier, I. 1999. Clinical Journal of Sports
Medicine, 9, 221-7.
Shrier, I., & Gossal, K. 2000. Myths and truths
of stretching: Individualized recommenda-
tions for healthy muscles. The Physician and
Sportsmedicine, 28 (8), 57-63.
Smith, J. 2001. Strength training for women.
IDEA Health & Fitness Source, 19 (5), 30-8.
Williams, L. 1992 Winning Beginnings:
Wake Up Your Warm-Ups. Network for Fitness
Professionals: Australia.
Use the warm-up time to gauge and
discuss form and technique.
Use lots of verbal imagery and have
more than one way to cue an exercise
or alignment tip, advises Crews.
What seems perfectly clear to one
person may be confusing to another.
Take Missaleks lead by starting your
classes with some simple deep-
breathing techniques to encourage
participants to relax their shoulders
and get focused.
During your own strength training
workouts, practice what you teach,
suggests McMillan. Theres nothing
worse than a group instructor teach-
ing a weight training class with poor
technique and no muscle tone, she
says. You have to know what youre
doing in order to cue it effectively
verbally and visually.
One Last Repetition
While many strength training instruc-
tors are still including warm-ups in
their classes, the trend now is to make
the warm-up component more func-
tional and specic to the class and par-
ticipants. In general, tness experts
recommend designing warm-ups that
combine rhythmic limbering with
multijoint movement patterns.
Light weights may be used in an ini-
tial or rst strength training set, with
a gradual increase in load. Dynamic
stretching is often used, and there is
a migration toward exercises that pro-
mote total-body integration and core
stability. More and more often, in-
structors are borrowing warm-up
movements from yoga and Pilates.
Many warm-ups are done to music to
encourage participation. According to
most experts, the warm-up session for
a one-hour class should take anywhere
from six to 10 minutes.
Since most participants respond
better to a strength training workout
after performing a dynamic warm-up,
you are most likely to have positive