This is a topic that every exerciser should pay close attention to. Warming up, especially before a weight training session, is much more important and beneficial than you may think. Men can be especially stubborn when it comes to taking the time to warm up their muscles and would rather just jump right in to their "working sets" of exercise.

Many exercisers are curious about why it's so important to warm up before a weight training session, especially if they're feeling flexible enough to just jump right on in.
There are many reasons why warming up before your weight training session is vital to you right now and if you're planning on working out in the future.

When your muscles are cold and you suddenly begin an intense workout session, your body will naturally begin to govern itself, and will actually attempt to hold you back from going "all out" in this unprepared state. Some people are mentally stronger than others and may push hard to override the body's protective attempts, but this can often lead to injury. 
 
When you properly warm up, you will bring increased blood flow to your skeletal muscles. The increased blood flow will also be accompanied by an increase in body temperature. Together, they help to make your muscles more flexible and less prone to injury. 

During a warm up, the blood that's now flooding your warming muscles contains a substance called hemoglobin. This carries oxygen to your muscles, which will further help to prepare you for the upcoming workout session and will help your muscles work much more efficiently.  This influx of nutrients brings about many benefits and although mostly physiological, they will also have both conscious & subconscious effects on your attitude, including helping to increase your confidence.

This combination of physical & mental preparedness will allow you to use significantly more intensity during your workouts without having to worry about injuring yourself. 

Listen, I'm the last person who wants to waste time. I like to get in the gym, do my thing, and get out of Dodge. 
Luckily, I've learned from past mistakes and know that if I jump the gum and rush into my workout, I'm likely to aggravate a tendon, joint, ligament or muscle. It's not a matter of playing it too safe either. Every time I've ever sped through a workout (over 18 years) in a haphazard manner (leaving out the warm up), I’ve injured myself the majority of the time! I was always the guy saying, "I just wish I'd taken the time to warm up!”

I see people all the time, rushing and jumping right into their training session. These are the people who will likely quit within two years time. It's often due to injuries they've sustained or it's because they just weren't seeing results. I can promise you that if you warm up before each weight training session, not only will you greatly prevent injuries from occurring, but you will also have much better workouts, resulting in guess what? MUCH BETTER RESULTS!   

Here's The Most Efficient Way To Warm Up Your Muscles Before A Weight Training Workout:
If you're about to train a specific major muscle group, your warm up will be best suited to focus primarily on those muscles. Even if you train your whole body in one workout session, you can and should still warm up each individual major muscle group just before you begin training with "working sets". Working sets are often considered the sets where you'll increase the weight to be lifted and exert more effort into the exercise AKA increased workout intensity.    

If you are training legs today and your first exercise is Squats, simply use little or no weight and perform a couple of sets of warm up Squats. This is the most efficient means to warm up, because you're using the exact exercise that you're about to execute to prepare. You can and should progressively build up toward your working sets of the Squat. So for example, if your working sets began at 225 pounds, you would greatly benefit by performing 3 warm up sets. If it's a Barbell Squat, your warm up could begin with 25 pound plates on each side = Total of 95 pounds. Perform approximately 10 reps. Your next warm up set might be an additional 20 pounds on each side = Total of 135 pounds. Perform approximately 8 reps. Your last warm up set might be and additional 25 pounds on each side - Total of 185 pounds. Perform approximately 6 reps. Your next set would be your working set of 225 pounds for however many reps you've planned on executing. 
Remember, you can always do more or less sets - It's up to you. Just make sure to do them!

In the next article, we'll talk about a Dynamic Warm Up - It's another awesome warm up protocol that can help to promote extraordinary workout results!

James Villepigue CSCS