3 Phase Warm Up To
Ensure Your Body
‘Functions Well’
This 3 phase warm up is specifically designed
to ensure your upcoming workout is pain free
and record breaking.
Poor mobility is often a common issue most
injured people have in common. You’ll be
surprised at how quickly those aches and
pains start to disappear and you begin to lift
more weight once your mobility improves and
you’re getting the right muscles firing.
One of the most important things you should be doing is
using the foam roller and the self myofascial products
that are available. Often when people exercise or play
sport or even worse are in front of a computer all day
you can and often do accumulate what are called
adhesions. These adhesions are small and some times
big knots that appear within our muscles.
TRIGGER POINTING GENERAL RULES
1. Ensure you are relaxed the whole time. Trigger pointing won’t benefit you if
you are not breathing and relaxed!
2. Once you find a trigger point, take the feeling to about an 8 out of 10 (the
number 10 obviously being as much as you can bear). Hold that feeling,
whilst breathing, until you feel the pain level drop to around a 5.
HIPS
• Restriction in joint range of motion creating overload
to the ligaments and joint capsule.
All of the above will lead to injury, plateaus in results
and chronic pain problems in the body.
X BAND WALKS
Benefits- This exercise is used to activate the gluteus medius, especially
important before doing Squats or Dead lifts.
Action- Stand on a red band with no shoes 30cm apart. Cross the
band so it makes an X, pull the shoulder blades together and take
15 lateral steps one way and repeat in the opposite direction. Making sure
the hips and shoulders stay level. You should feel it in your glutes.
This is a great drill due to the fact we generally have discrepancies in
the rotary muscles of our back.
Start on the right side, with both arms outstretched. Keep the right
leg straight. Bring the left leg up and bend at the knee to form a
90-degree angle. Take the left arm and reach back across the body
to get a stretch in the middle and lower back.
Return to the starting position and repeat. The “down” knee should
not come up off the ground.
Perform 6 reps on each side.
BIRD DOG
Benefits- This exercise is used to improve strength and motor control
in the glutes and stabilising muscles in the back.
Action- Start on all fours with hands placed underneath the shoulders.
Look straight down with chin tucked, brace the stomach then squeeze
the glutes, lift one leg and the opposite arm and extend both as far
away from each other as possible. Make sure you keep the arms and
legs in line with your body. hold for 2 seconds extended and return to
start. Do 8-10 reps each side.
FRONT TO BACK SWINGS
Hold onto a fixed object, then swing your leg in a rhythmic fashion
forward and backward; go further as you loosen up. Important you
maintain good posture: chest up! This will help to prevent you hyper
extending the lower back, this occurs when the body is trying to
compensate for a lack of range of motion, which is generally due to
tight hip flexors. If this is the case limit how far you can go so you’re
not completing a faulty movement pattern. Keep the knee almost
completely locked, if you bend the knee too much the hamstrings will
not lengthen enough to make this a productive drill.
SCAPULAR PUSH UPS
Benefits- This exercise helps to strengthen the muscles that hold the
shoulder blades together providing better stability in the shoulder.
Action- In the push up position, keeping your elbows locked, retract
the shoulder blades so your torso moves a couple of inches towards
the floor. Return to the start position protracting the shoulder blades.
The main focus is to keep the elbows locked and not drop the hips too
low. Do between 12 and 20 reps.
Perform 8 reps on each leg
SIDE TO SIDE LEG SWINGS
Hold onto a fixed object, then swing your leg in a rhythmic fashion
side to side; go further as you loosen up. Important you maintain
good posture: chest up!
Important if you are tight through the hip adductors you don’t tilt the
torso to compensate.
Perform 8 reps each leg
LYING INTERNAL ROTATION STRETCH
Benefits- improves mobility in the rear of the shoulder which is generally
the culprit in shoulder problems.
Action- position the upper arm flat on the floor in line with your shoulder
and the upper arm pointing towards the ceiling. Use the opposite hand
to push the working shoulder down so you feel a stretch in the back of
the shoulder. Push gently and hold for 30 seconds each side.
GLUTE MEDIUS
• Lay on one side of your body, with both your knees slightly
bent (this makes it easier to locate)
• Position the ball on your glute muscle, aiming more towards
the top outside corner of the muscle. This muscle sits
underneath your actual glute, so this positioning helps
move past it and find the right spot.
WALKING LUNGE WITH ROTATION
This is a great drill for the computer worker with tight hip flexors and
poor mobility through the trunk with rotation.
Take a long stride into a lunge position, at the bottom of the
movement rotate left and then right - the knees and lower body
should not move, complete the rotation in a controlled manner.
Perform 12 reps
LEVATOR SCAPULAE
• Can be done either standing with your back to a wall, or
laying on your back on the ground.
• First you must use your hand and find the top inside
corner of your shoulder blade.
• From there, place the ball on the inner side of the shoulder
blade, closer towards the spine.
WINDMILLS
• Best done in a standing position, against a wall or a solid
object with a blunt edge.
• Place the ball on top of your shoulder, closer towards
your neck.
• Lean over and position the ball against the wall whilst
still holding it in place, and press in ( move in similar to
packing a scrum in footy)
GLUTE WALKS
Set up with a wide stance and upright torso. Rotate and flex at the
hips, reaching your right arm to left foot. Rhythmically transition,
with rotation to right side with the left arm. Make sure you push your
backside back while keeping a neutral spine/good posture, this will
make sure you flex at the hips and not lower back.
Look up not down, as soon as you look down you will lose your
posture. Perform 10 rotations each side
TRAPEZIUS
• Tendon and muscle damage from overuse and wear
and tear.
• Pain provocation from joint proprioceptors leading
to what is called reflex inhibition (the shutting down
of the working muscle due to the overload occurring
on the joints) causing weight shifts away from that
side of the body
• Lay on one side of your body, with both your knees slightly
bent (this makes it easier to locate)
• Position the ball underneath your hip bone (you can find
the bone with your finger). It often works best to place
the ball slightly to the right.
ACTIVATION DRILLS
SIDE LYING TRUNK OPENING
3. Relax off the trigger point for 10 or so seconds, and repeat for a maximum
of 3 times per trigger point.
If left unaddressed the following can happen…
• Faulty recruitment patterns in movement due to
muscular imbalance
I’ve selected mainly lower body drills, especially for the hips. The reason for this is today’s
society has us seated in front of a computer for long periods and deprives our hips of
important mobility.
The shoulder is a more mobile joint and generally benefits from more stability
based drills.
Dynamic flexibility drills are designed to transition the body from rest to high-intensity
exercise and increase general mobility.
5 Trigger Points For An Effective Work Out
You don’t want to spend all day warming up so select
drills that are going to give you the biggest bang for
your buck!
SELF MYOFASCIAL RELEASE
OR TRIGGER POINTING
DYNAMIC FLEXIBILITY / MOBILITY DRILLS
CHEST
• Best done standing, although can also be done laying
face down on the ground.
• Position the ball in the middle of your chest , towards the
outer side.
• Holding onto the ball, push your chest into the wall,
ensuring the you relax and breath deeply.
Step forward and bring your foot up in a active fashion to your hands
while maintaining good posture, hold the foot in that position for 3
seconds, take a step and do the same on the other foot.
Perform 6 reps each side
OVERHEAD BROOMSTICK DISLOCATIONS
Olympic lifters have used this drill for decades to improve shoulder
mobility.
Start the broomstick at the hips on the front side of the body and
gently take the bar over the head to stretch out through your pecs,
shoulders and lats. When the stick touches your hips on the back
side of the body gently return to the start position. If you are really
tight go as far as you can until a stretch is felt, only go as far as your
shoulders allow and is comfortable – don’t bend at the elbows.
SUPINE BRIDGES
Benefits- this exercise is used to activate the glutes before quad
dominant exercises.
Action- Lie on your back with the legs bent at 90 degrees and feet
flat on the floor. Squeeze your buttocks like you are trying to hold a 50
cent coin in between them. Lift and hold for 2 seconds at the top of the
movement and then return to the start position in a controlled manner.
Make sure you don’t hyper extend your lower spine. Perform between
12- 20 reps.
The Physique Enhancement
Specialists!
www.functionwell.com.au