Warming Up For Maximal Strength Performance

Warming Up For Maximal Strength Performance:

The thought that bodybuilders should focus on strength gains over all other things is spreading. We want to do whatever we can to use the most weight we can and cause micro trauma in every single workout! 

So a strength-training warm up is a lot like the bodybuilding warm-up outlined above. Some things differ though. For strength training, more warm-up sets should be completed, but each one should only be of a very low rep count. This prevents fatigue.

Stretching should not be done because it will put the muscle in an un-contracted position, weakening it. It may be of some benefit to stretch opposite muscle groups to the ones about to be trained (such as hanging from a pull-up bar before your set of military presses). If a muscle is very tight, lightly stretch it.

Hanging from a pull-up bar before your set of military presses can help prevent injury.

Finally, do not spend unnecessary energy on the treadmill or the elliptical bike- just get right to the lift. Maxing out on an exercise requires maximum energy and specific focus on one area.

Warming Up For Endurance Performance:

This one is kind of funny. How do you warm up for a jog? In most cases, a jog is a warm up! You might do a little walking to start but really, most people just jump right into a jog. It is the same way with a very high rep weighted exercise or any other endurance activity.

Most of the time, before performing an endurance set it is alright to jump right in, but one set prior to performing the exercise will help you get focused and make sure your form is perfect.

Benefits to Stretching:

Just like people underestimate the importance of a proper warm-up, many underestimate the importance of stretching. Seems like all most lifters want to do is jump right into working sets and then leave! Taking some time after a workout to stretch can be just as beneficial as taking time before a workout to warm up and acclimate to an exercise.

Stretching can prevent a lot of problems such as muscle tightness, muscle soreness, and the common problem to bodybuilders known as becoming "muscle bound".

Preventing Muscle Tightness & Soreness:

There is a sort of scale that the muscles have that pertains to how stretched they are or how contracted they are. On one end is an extremely stretched muscle. On the other is an extremely contracted muscle.

A healthy muscle lies somewhere in-between. While working out a muscle becomes extremely tight - A proper stretch routine can limit this tightness, thus preventing injuries.

It is a proven fact that stretching decreases the amount of muscle soreness after a workout. Not only is it proven scientifically but many lifters have experienced it. To effectively limit muscle soreness, the price might be a very painful stretch, but this is what we call "temporary pain, long term gain".

What is worse, gritting your teeth and doing a 60 second stretch after training each muscle group, or having to grit your teeth because it hurts to do simple activities because of muscle soreness all day?

Muscle-Bound:

It is a common idea that from all of our working out, us bodybuilders become completely inflexible and "muscle bound". But this is no myth! If you do not stretch, you will fall victim to this trap! It might not be as bad as it sounds but why lose flexibility? It will only affect you negatively.

Look at bodybuilders like Tom Platz and Arnold Schwarzenegger. These are two bodybuilders that relied heavily on stretching. Arnold always said that to get a fully developed muscle you need to stretch.

It is also proven that as a bodybuilder develops; the muscle separation suffers due to gravity and other reasons. Stretching is the cure for this problem! Over time, stretching can greatly aid a bodybuilder's muscle separation. It might not show right away but when you hit the stage you will be glad you took time to stretch out.