5 Ways your Warm Up Can Make you Stronger (Part 1)
I have probably been asked the question, “How do I get stronger” at least 4 trillion times in my life. Whether it comes from soccer moms or college meatheads, everyone wants a magic pill so they can peacock themselves down Garnet Ave and be the talk of the town. In my 18+ years of sitting under barbells, I have found some pretty creative ways to keep me focused and in a constant state of progression. One of the most effective ways is to turn your warm ups into mental games. After all, anything can be turned into a game. Walking to the grocery store is just walking to the grocery store until you time yourself or begin to measure the most effective ways to walk there. Getting strong is no different.
I have probably been asked the question, “How do I get stronger” at least 4 trillion times in my life. Whether it comes from soccer moms or college meatheads, everyone wants a magic pill so they can peacock themselves down Garnet Ave and be the talk of the town. In my 18+ years of sitting under barbells, I have found some pretty creative ways to keep me focused and in a constant state of progression. One of the most effective ways is to turn your warm ups into mental games. After all, anything can be turned into a game. Walking to the grocery store is just walking to the grocery store until you time yourself or begin to measure the most effective ways to walk there. Getting strong is no different.
I have created a game out of every aspect of nearly every single workout ever written on a whiteboard. I mean, one of the reasons I love CrossFit so much is because every day kind of feels like a game. One of my favorite things to make a game out of is my warm up. Warming up raises your core temperature, loosens joints, and fires up the snatch neurons we were all born with. Far too often I see people half-ass their warm up. Too often people do one or two light reps, add weight, and never put any thought into why they are warming up in the first place. Warms ups are a great time to play little games with yourself on a daily basis which will add a ton of strength in your training.
1. Focusing on “Over-Perfect” Form
Over-perfect is a fun way to challenge myself to sit as perfectly as possible in the bottom of a squat. When you start getting into working sets in the 85-100% range, focusing on form is a byproduct of training. The more you squat, the better you squat, and the less acutely you will have to focus when you get to working sets. Working sets are reserved for a clear mind, one or two coaching cues, and a ton of aggression and purpose. Warm ups however, are a great time to try to get in the absolute best possible positions.
My general warm up for a back squat will consist of an empty bar or 60kg. You will often find me sitting in the bottom of a squat and shifting from side to side working on my ankle flexibility. My next step is to sit in the bottom of the squat and let my hips sink as low as possible (added weight helps push the hips down for more of a stretch). This also adds some sport specific mobility and trains my body to know where my bottom position is. The next step is to work on my thoracic spine. While sitting in the bottom, I focus on getting my torso as upright as possible. This allows me to find my heels, get comfortable with the bar on my traps for a high bar back squat, and works on some flexibility. This simple little routine allows me to train my body for perfect movement, cues my body to the positions I expect to hit, and allows for some specific mobility training.
2. Focus on speed at lower weights
One of the easiest ways to get stronger is to get faster. Whether it is squatting, deadlifting, or snatching, the speed of the concentric movement is absolutely critical to moving heavy things. It is no surprise that so many top athletes focus on speed and power through jumping movements. The power generated through creating speed is paramount for anyone interested in getting stronger. To train this, during any strength movement, control the eccentric portion of the movement and explode through the concentric. Train your body to be fast, move explosively, and watch the weights move easier as you move into your working sets.
