In many high school weight rooms and gym classes, warm-ups are little more than a customary ritual. A few laps, a quick stretch, and onto the main workout. But what if these warm-ups are holding athletes back?
Modern strength and conditioning coaches are rethinking warm-ups, treating them not as something to check off the to-do list, but as an important performance tool. A well-designed warm-up primes the body, sharpens movement patterns, and builds long-term athletic resilience. On the other hand, an outdated warm-up routine reinforces poor habits, limits gains, and even increases injury risk.
Problems with traditional Warm-Ups
Many traditional warm-up routines suffer from the following issues:
- Too General: Jogging a few laps or static stretching doesn’t effectively prepare the body for specific demands of heavy lifting or sprinting.
- No Skill Reinforcement: Movements aren’t connected to technical skills athletes need to perform during the session.
- Wasted Time: Athletes “check out” mentally during warm-ups that feel pointless or boring.
Worse, sloppy warm-ups allow poor movement mechanics to creep in, reinforcing bad habits that show up later under load.
What Warm-Ups Should Do
A great warm-up isn’t just about “getting loose” — it establishes the tone of every session. Modern warm-ups get athletes mentally and physically ready to perform. They should:
- Increase Core Temperature and Blood Flow: A small but necessary step for intense activity.
- Activate Key Muscle Groups and Movement Patterns: Wake up the muscles that will be heavily involved in the day’s workout. Squat patterns, hinge patterns, acceleration mechanics — can all be lightly rehearsed.
- Facilitate Mobility and Stability: Open up hips, shoulders, ankles, and thoracic spine while reinforcing stability in key joints.
- Prime the Nervous System: Include low-level explosive movements (like skips, bounds, or light jumps) to get the brain firing at game speed.
An Example Framework
Consider this example warm-up framework:
- General Prep (2–3 min)
- Dynamic movements like jogging, shuffling, or carioca to increase heart rate and blood flow.
- Mobility Focus (3–5 min)
- Active stretches targeting hips, shoulders, ankles, and T-spine.
- Examples: World’s Greatest Stretch, deep squat holds, banded shoulder openers.
- Activation & Stability (3–5 min)
- Light resistance band work, glute bridges, planks, bird-dogs, or deadbugs.
- Emphasize posture and core engagement.
- Movement Rehearsal (2–3 min)
- Perform bodyweight versions of upcoming exercises (air squats, hip hinges, lunge walks).
- Short accelerations or bounds if sprinting is involved.
- Neural Prep (1–2 min)
- Quick, explosive drills like skips, high knees, quick starts to fire up the nervous system without creating fatigue.
This general format can be adjusted based on time constraints, session goals, and athlete readiness.
Why It Matters in High School Sports
High school athletes are still establishing fundamental movement patterns. Every rep is a teaching opportunity and a strong warm-up helps athletes develop in a variety of ways.
- Prevent Injury by addressing mobility restrictions and activating stabilizers.
- Improve Performance by making athletes more explosive and movement-efficient.
- Build Habits that translate into better lifts, cleaner sprints, and more athletic play.
Ultimately, coaches who rethink their warm-ups set a higher standard that carries through the entire training session.
Warm Ups
If warm-ups feel like a chore, try making them intentional, targeted, and connected to performance goals. If done right, they mold better, healthier habits, preparing athletes for more than just the next 60 minutes.
