Best Warm up Protocols
The best, and most scientifically proven warm up to perform is a R.A.M.P warm-up as not only will it help prevent injury but also help your body perform at its best during the session!
So how do you perform the R.A.M.P warm-up, it will be different for each person (depending on their abilities, mobility etc) and session (strength, speed, hypertrophy), but this guide should give you a really good structure to follow before each session.
R – Raise your heartbeat – this is a very simple progress and should not take too long. This does not need to be complicated and can simply be 5 minutes on a cardio machine such as a bike or rower. It would need to be a moderate speed to raise the heart rate, somewhere in the region of 120-130 bpm. The idea of this phase of the warmup is to increase the muscle temperature, core temperature, blood flow, muscle elasticity and neural activation.
If you have ‘movement’ within the session, the ‘R’ section of the warmup can be extended to include ‘locomotor’ – so movement based protocols such as sprints (acceleration/deacceleration), with some turns and changes of direction.
It is of note that A (activation) and M (mobilise) are often completed together as one section. The process used for these two will be different on each session, as although you will activate the whole body, the idea is to be specific to the movements used in the session. For example, if you are completing a leg session you would pay more attention to the hips, knee, ankles etc, and not so much on the shoulders for example. Note: these are significantly different from simply ‘stretching out.’
A – Activate the muscles – This section is looks to engage the muscles in preparation for the upcoming session (focusing on stability and balance). Making these very specific to the movement patterns, so movements like glute bridge for glutes, internal and external rotation for shoulders, or body weight jump squats for squats. These movements will generally be body weight or use implements such as bands to add some tension. You can also use isometric holds in this process i.e. squat holds
M – Mobilise the joints, tendons and ligaments – This focuses on the movement patterns that the body is likely to encounter during the session (Hips, Knees, Ankles and Thoracic spine), again will generally be bodyweight, bands and be dynamic in nature. They will follow the movement patterns, with movements such as lunges and jump squats.
Examples: Quad stretch with reach, hamstring sweep, lateral lunges, leg swings, arm circles, lunges with rotations, ankle and knee swirls, skipping
P – Potentiate – Very simply, this involved gradually increasing the stress on the body in preparation to the upcoming session.
This process would be the same one used for both sessions and competitions. In competition, you would use the same process, being specific to each of the events.
Example of a basic ramp warm up for a leg session:
R. Cycling 5 minutes at moderate speed + 1 min sprint at the end
A + M. Leg swings, Runners lunge, glute bridge, air squats into jump squats
P. Potentiate your squat 20kg bar x8, then 30%x5, 50%x5, 80%,x3 90%x2 (%) of opening weight with 60-120 seconds between each lift
Example of a basic ramp warm up for a shoulder session:
R. Cycling 5 minutes at moderate speed + 1 min sprint at the end
A + M. Internal and external rotation using the cable/band, light kettlebell windmills, shoulder rolls, shoulder circles, arm swings
P. Potentiate with a strict/push press 20kg bar x8, then 30%x5, 50%x5, 85%,x2 (%) of opening weight with 60-120 seconds between each lift
Enjoy!!