Warm-up and cool-down protocols

What a warm-up actually does

Warm-ups serve two purposes: 1. Raise tissue temperature (more elastic muscles, fewer injuries) 2. Prime the nervous system for the upcoming session

A bad warm-up wastes time. A good warm-up improves performance and reduces injury risk.

The 3-phase warm-up

Phase 1: General warm-up (3-5 min) — raise heart rate, get blood flowing. Light cardio, jumping jacks, easy bike, light row. Phase 2: Dynamic mobility (3-5 min) — move joints through their ROM. Leg swings, arm circles, hip openers, thoracic rotations. Phase 3: Movement-specific prep (5-10 min) — rehearse the day's lift at progressively heavier loads.

Static stretching: pre vs post

Pre-workout: static stretching held >30 seconds reduces force output in the muscle stretched. Avoid before strength/power work. Post-workout: static stretching is fine. Some evidence it improves recovery and ROM. Hold 30-60 seconds per stretch.

The exception: clients with significant mobility limitations might benefit from brief static stretching of restricted areas before training — but the trade-off is real.

Movement-specific warm-up for a squat day

Example before a 4×5 back squat at 80%:

1. 5 min bike or row 2. Dynamic mobility: leg swings, hip openers, thoracic rotations (3 min) 3. Bodyweight squat × 10 4. Goblet squat × 8 (light DB) 5. Empty bar × 8 6. Empty bar × 5 + 1 plate × 5 7. Working warm-ups: 50% × 5, 70% × 3, 85% × 1 8. Working sets: 80% × 5 × 4

The whole warm-up takes 10-15 minutes. Skip it and the first work set will feel worse than it should.

Cool-down

Less critical than warm-up but useful:

2-5 min easy cardio to drop HR gradually
Static stretching of muscles trained (if desired)
Optional foam rolling

A cool-down doesn't dramatically reduce soreness or improve recovery — sleep and nutrition do that — but it transitions out of training mode and feels good.

What NOT to do in a warm-up

Static stretching before max-effort lifts — reduces force output. Cardio so hard you're fatigued before lifting — defeats the purpose. No warm-up at all — common in clients who feel rushed. Even 3-5 minutes helps. Endless mobility work — 5-10 minutes is enough. 30+ minutes of mobility before training is a sign someone doesn't actually want to train.

TL;DR

3 phases: general (HR up), dynamic mobility, movement-specific. 5-15 minutes total. Static stretching is fine post-workout, generally avoid pre-workout. Warm up specifically for what you're about to do.