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Best warm-up exercises before strength training: 7 to do first

Ten minutes. Warm body, rehearsed pattern, ready for the first heavy set.

By Susmit Jalan, coach at Online Fitness Worldwide.

You walk in cold. You load the bar. The first set feels heavy and wrong. Sound familiar?

A warm-up fixes that. A review of 32 studies found warming up improved performance in 79% of the outcomes measured, with little evidence of harm.[3]

The research points to one order: easy movement to get warm, then big dynamic stretches, then lighter sets of the lift itself.[4]

That is the list below. No kit needed, except whatever you lift today.

The 7 best warm-up exercises before strength training

  1. March on the spot or brisk walk

    Why
    Step one is getting warm. The NHS warm-up starts with 3 minutes of marching on the spot, arms pumping.[1]
    How
    March in place. Then forwards and backwards. Elbows bent, fists soft. Build the pace until you breathe a little harder.
    Dose
    2 to 3 minutes. Longer on a cold morning.

  2. Bodyweight squat

    Why
    Hips, knees and ankles move through their range before they carry load. That is why the NHS routine ends with knee bends.[1]
    How
    Feet shoulder-width. Sit down between your heels, as deep as feels easy. Stand up tall. Put a chair behind you if you want a target.
    Dose
    10 slow reps.

  3. Leg swings, front to back and side to side

    Why
    A large-amplitude dynamic stretch. Dynamic stretching either has no effect on performance or improves it.[4]
    How
    Hold a wall. Swing one leg forward and back, relaxed, a little higher each time. Then across the body and out to the side.
    Dose
    10 each direction, each leg.

  4. Lunge with a reach

    Why
    Hip flexors, glutes and upper back in one move. Before lifting, moving through range beats holding a long stretch.[4]
    How
    Step into a long lunge. Back knee down if you need it. Reach the arm on the front-leg side up to the ceiling. Step back. Switch.
    Dose
    5 each side.

  5. Shoulder rolls and band pull-aparts

    Why
    Shoulders and upper back, ready for pressing and pulling. The NHS warm-up uses shoulder rolls, 2 sets of 10.[1]
    How
    Roll the shoulders forwards 5 times, backwards 5. Then hold a band at chest height, arms straight, and pull it apart until it touches your chest. No band? Squeeze the shoulder blades with arms out wide.
    Dose
    2 rounds of 10 rolls, then 10 to 15 pull-aparts.

  6. Hip hinge drill with a broomstick

    Why
    A specific warm-up: the movement of the main lift, at low intensity. It rehearses the pattern, not just the temperature.[6]
    How
    Stick along your spine, touching head, upper back and tailbone. Soft knees. Push the hips back until you feel the hamstrings. The stick stays in contact. Stand up.
    Dose
    8 to 10 slow reps.

  7. Ramp-up sets of your first lift

    Why
    A review of upper-body warm-ups found strong evidence that high-load dynamic warm-ups improve strength and power.[5] In plain words: lighter sets of the lift you are about to do.
    How
    Start with the empty bar or a light dumbbell. Add load each set. Fewer reps as it gets heavier. Stop well short of tiring yourself.
    Dose
    3 to 4 sets, building towards your working weight.

How long should a warm-up be?

The NHS routine takes at least 6 minutes, longer if you feel you need it.[1] The AHA says 5 to 10 minutes, and the more intense the session, the longer the warm-up.[2]

Stretching: keep static holds short. A review found static stretching under about 90 seconds in total was less likely to hurt performance. Longer holds are better saved for the cool-down or a separate session.[4]

Honest note: a warm-up is not magic. In one small trial, 15 men did sets to failure at 80% of their maximum. They did the same number of reps with or without a warm-up.[6] The warm-up's job is to get you warm and practise the pattern, so the heavy sets go where you aim them.

And on injury: the upper-body review found no trials that tested whether warming up prevents injury.[5] We warm up for better, cleaner sets. We do not promise it prevents every niggle.

A sample 10-minute warm-up

Sample only. Not a prescription. Adjust it to your body, your history and the lift of the day.

  • Minutes 0 to 3: march on the spot, building the pace.
  • Minutes 3 to 6: 10 bodyweight squats, 10 leg swings each way, 5 lunges with a reach each side.
  • Minutes 6 to 7: shoulder rolls and 10 band pull-aparts. Or 8 hinge drills on a lower-body day.
  • Minutes 7 to 10: ramp-up sets of the first lift. Empty bar or light, then two or three heavier sets with fewer reps.

Want it coached live?

Iron Hour is built this way. 60 minutes, 1:1. Set-up at minute 0. Warm-up from minute 4. The primary lift starts at minute 14. Accessories at 28. Cool-down at 50.

The warm-up is written for that day's lift. Pattern first, then ramp-up sets to the working load. Not a general loosen-up.

Coming back after time off? Return is 45 minutes, 12 alternate-day sessions a month. Lean Reset is 20 sessions a month, 1:1. Open Floor is a small group.

Coached live on Google Meet, Zoom or FaceTime. In Hindi or English. On IST. Not sure yet? Start with a 30-minute consultation. It is a conversation, not training. Booking holds a time. The fee is agreed directly.

See the programsAsk on WhatsApp

Before you start

General information, not medical advice. ACSM's screening model says: if you are inactive, have no symptoms and no known heart, metabolic or kidney disease, you can start light to moderate exercise without medical clearance and build up gradually. If you have one of those conditions, or symptoms such as chest pain, unusual breathlessness or dizziness, get medical clearance first.[7] Stop if you feel pain or become unwell, and get advice first if you are pregnant or have recently given birth.[1]

ASCA Level 1 (strength and conditioning) and ACE (anatomy and biomechanics). These are credentials held by the coach. Neither body endorses this business or this article.

Sources

  1. [1] NHS. How to warm up before exercising. https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/how-to-warm-up-before-exercising/
  2. [2] American Heart Association. Warm up, cool down. https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/exercise-and-physical-activity/fitness-basics/warm-up-cool-down
  3. [3] Fradkin AJ, Zazryn TR, Smoliga JM. Effects of warming-up on physical performance: a systematic review with meta-analysis. J Strength Cond Res. 2010;24(1):140–148. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181c643a0
  4. [4] Behm DG, Chaouachi A. A review of the acute effects of static and dynamic stretching on performance. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2011;111(11):2633–2651. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-011-1879-2
  5. [5] McCrary JM, Ackermann BJ, Halaki M. A systematic review of the effects of upper body warm-up on performance and injury. Br J Sports Med. 2015;49(14):935–942. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2014-094228
  6. [6] Ribeiro AS, Romanzini M, Schoenfeld BJ, Souza MF, Avelar A, Cyrino ES. Effect of different warm-up procedures on the performance of resistance training exercises. Percept Mot Skills. 2014;119(1):133–145. https://doi.org/10.2466/25.29.PMS.119c17z7
  7. [7] Riebe D, Franklin BA, Thompson PD, et al. Updating ACSM's recommendations for exercise preparticipation health screening. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2015;47(11):2473–2479. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000000664