I constantly hear trainers asking their clients if they’ve warmed up. I agree that it is helpful to obtain this information, but if the client says he or she has not warmed up, I don’t think they should be told to hop on the treadmill for five minutes. It’s almost an automatic response from the trainer, and it’s a reinforced expectation from the client. Well, hopping on the treadmill for five minutes can be a good warm-up if the goal is to improve the speed or duration of walking on a treadmill. However, the five minute treadmill warmup is misunderstood as a reliable method for readying the body for a workout. What if the trainer takes that client through a series of upper body exercises? Or lower body exercises that require a greater degree of knee flexion or hip flexion, which exceeds the degree performed on the treadmill? With only a five minute treadmill warmup, the body is ill-prepared for these activities.
What if we, as trainers, prepared our clients for the specific activities we will have them perform that session? Let’s check ranges our clients’ range of motion to see what he/she has available and assess his/her tolerance. Let’s call this their “active range of motion.” If we’re going to work on their back and chest, then let’s be sure and warm up the back and chest muscles specific to their active range of motion. Triceps and biceps day? Well, the treadmill warm up isn’t going to help that much. Instead, specifically designed, custom-built exercises will warm up the specific muscles of that specific individual.
Yes, old habits die hard. But we need to think about what is best for our clients as individuals. We should not be treating each individual the same because we are all structurally different and we all have a different physical makeup. Think about what is best for each person, and apply your knowledge, your experience, and the science.