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Warm It Up!

Greg Amundson means business in his warm-up... Do you?
Greg Amundson means business in his warm-up... Do you?

It’s an important part of every workout, but it doesn’t always get talked about or emphasized as much as it should:  I’m talking about the Warm-Up.

You should all do it, and most of you are faithful and consistent to warm-up properly every time you come into the gym.  But there are times when some of us go at our warm-up without enthusiasm; perhaps it’s a product of laziness, or boredom, or a feeling of simply not wanting to take the time…  Whatever your reasons may be for skimping on your warm-up, there are even more reasons why you should NOT cut it short.

First of all, warming up starts that all-important increase of blood flow to your targeted muscle groups.  This will potentially allow you to lift heavier and work harder in your WODs.  Taking time to complete a proper warm-up will also lubricate your joints, thus helping to head off injury.  Yet another asset of this low key warm-up time is the opportunity it allows you to work unstressed on your weight lifting form!  Warming up also helps to prepare your body for aerobic activity. It gradually revs up your cardiovascular system, increases blood flow to your muscles, and raises your body temperature.

While the main goal of any warm-up is to raise your core body temperature, a warm-up can also act as somewhat of a rehearsal for your workout.  Ideally, your warm-up should include exercises or movements that mimic the demands of the exercises in the workout to follow.

One element that is often not discussed in conjunction with warm-ups is mental imagery.  Although not technically a part of the physical warm-up, mental imagery can play an integral role in maximizing your performance.  It can help to picture different scenarios in your head before every WOD or heavy lift.  You can try picturing the lift or movement series in your head beforehand, as if seeing it through your own eyes.  Although mental imagery is a skill that needs developing, it can indeed play a crucial role in maximizing your performance.  This is why it’s a recommended technique to incorporate into your warm-up, especially in preparation for a competition!

It’s definitely important to realize that a warm-up is NOT a workout.  Although your goal is to raise your body temperature and ideally briefly raise your heart rate to beginning WOD levels, a warm-up should not leave you exhausted.

Some of you may feel stuck in a warm-up “rut”.  Your creativity could be starting to wane, which in turn reduces your enthusiasm for this important ritual, and likely shortens the length of time you choose to spend.

If you’re stuck for warm-up ideas, try talking to your friends.  Ask the coaches for suggestions.  Heck, even grab an idea from CrossFit.com.  But DON’T leave out this important part of your daily WOD!

Just for fun, try having a peek at the warm-up one of our CrossFit Heroes, Greg Amundson, does before every workout:  Click here to watch in Windows Media Player, or here to watch in Quicktime.

Today’s Workout:

Buy-in:  Shoulder Press 5 x 3 reps, working up to a heavy 3 reps (10 min max on this, the timer will be on!)

WOD:  Triple Trouble

This is a combo of three different WODs – count your reps for each one to get your overall score! 

“The Big Easy”

This is our second go at the workout dedicated to Eric “Big Easy” Brown.  Time to sharpen up those double unders and get your kip sorted!!

4 rounds for max total repetitions:

  • 30 seconds max pullups
  • 30 seconds rest
  • 30 seconds max double unders
  • 30 seconds rest

Zone 2:  scale to assisted pullups or 3x single unders

Zone 1:  scale as needed

Part 2:  Row 30/30

4 rounds for max total repetitions:

  • 30 seconds max metres rowed
  • 30 seconds rest
  • Scoring for row – only metres traveled during the work interval count – i.e. after the intervals are completed, check memory for actual metres traveled, not what shows up on screen.

Part 3:  Burpee 30/30

4 rounds for max total repetitions:

  • 30 seconds max reps burpees
  • 30 seconds rest

Add all your reps up for all parts of the wod to get your total score!

Cash-out: Just survive the WOD 😉

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