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Published: 4/11/2025🏋 Fitness|🤸 Training plans
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Warm-up exercises at the gym - what is the best way to kick off your workout?
Warming up is a key part of any workout - it helps avoid injury, improves range of motion and prepares muscles for exercise. What warm-up exercises are worth doing at the gym? Find out how to kick off your workout with a bang!
In this article:
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Warming up is a key part of any workout. It helps avoid injury, improves range of motion, and prepares muscles for exercise.
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A 10-15 minute warm-up is needed to effectively prepare the body for a workout.
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The most common mistakes are skipping the warm-up, cutting it short, and using static stretching instead of dynamic movements.
Short summary:
Why is it so important to warm up at the gym?
The warm-up is like a starting signal for your body. The role of this part of the entire workout is to prepare the body for the effort and minimise the risk of injury. A good warm-up is not a waste of time, but an investment in a stronger and more effective workout.
Benefits of warming up:
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Muscle flexibility: gradual increase in temperature improves the flexibility of muscles, reducing the risk of tears and strains.
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Joint mobility: appropriate warm-up exercises activate joints, increase their mobility and stability, which protects against injury.
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Better technique: making dynamic movements before strength training on a regular basis affects mobility and range of motion, resulting in better exercise technique.
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Nervous system stimulation: warming up prepares not only the body, but also stimulates the nervous and cardiovascular systems, increasing blood flow and delivering more oxygen to the muscles.
Warming up impacts training performance too, as it improves the body's response to exercise, which can result in better sports performance and more effective training sessions.
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What warm-up exercises are worth doing at the gym?
It's useful to divide the warm-up into several stages:
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Boosting the circulatory system
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Joint mobilisation
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Dynamic stretching
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Muscle activation
Each of these elements helps to gradually increase the range of motion and prepare the body for more intense effort.
Energising the body
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Running on a treadmill, working out on a cross-trainer, stationary bike;
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Jumping rope or running in place;
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Push-ups, running in place, skipping.
Mobility exercises and dynamic stretching
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Arm, hips, knees, wrists circles;
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Leg swings, lunges, knee lifts;
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Trunk rotations.
Muscle activation before the proper training - examples:
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Plank (core stability) - keep your body in a straight line, supporting yourself on your forearms and toes. This exercise engages the muscles of the core, which significantly contributes to stability during strength training.
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Banded squats - place a resistance band over your knees and squat down, activating the muscles of the legs, glutes, and hips.
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Push-ups - mainly engage the chest, shoulders, and core muscles, which are essential for maintaining body stability.
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Strength exercises (e.g. with a barbell) with light weight.
Adjusting the warm-up for advanced athletes
For those who do higher-intensity workouts, such as extensive strength training or lifting heavy weights, the warm-up should not only prepare the body for exercise, but also optimise performance. Here are some tips for advanced athletes:
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Longer joint mobilisation - athletes should spend more time mobilising joints, especially those that will be stressed the most, such as shoulder joints, hips and knees. It pays off to introduce more advanced exercises, such as dynamic stretching with balance balls, rollers or dynamic stretching with an extended range of motion.
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Activation training with weights - people who train with heavy weights should also include a series of exercises with weights, such as deadlifts, squats, bench presses - but with lighter weights - in order to activate the relevant muscle groups and prepare them for heavier loads.
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Plyometric exercises - if your workout demands working on explosive strength, it's a good idea to add plyometric exercises to your warm-up. Think of box jumps, vertical jumps or quick changes of direction to improve the dynamics and coordination.
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Isolated muscle activations - advanced athletes should focus on the precise activation of the muscles that will be key during a given workout. This can include activation of the core, gluteal, back or chest muscles, depending on training type.
How long should be the warm-up before strength training?
The length of a warm-up preceding strength training depends on the intensity and type of exercise, but it should usually last between 10 and 15 minutes. A warm-up that is too short can increase the risk of injury, and one that is too long can cause unnecessary fatigue. Optimal body preparation allows you to train effectively and safely, which translates into better results.
Warming up at the gym - frequently made mistakes
Skipping the warm-up is one of the biggest mistakes that can lead to injury and inferior training results. Cutting it short is just as problematic; a few minutes is just not enough to adequately prepare the body for exercise. Another mistake is to use static stretching instead of dynamic movements, which can weaken the muscles.
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