the warm up

[Thremp]

I do almost no general warm-up. I stretch before and try to do some minor calisthenics if I feel the need requires it. A warm-up weight on every exercise is a must, however.

[jah7_fsu1]

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good to point out the static stretching as a no no.
not a lot of people know that.

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Not a lot of people accept it either, despite many strength and conditioning coaches slowly reaching a consensus on it. Note that this is pre-workout and I'm not saying static stretching doesn't have some benefits. Just not before you lift!

[clearcut]

I agree, skip the static stretching pre and focus on dynamic stretches.

[Huh?]

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J: I like to envision warmups as a transition phase between low activity levels to higher activity levels. In the past with clients I preferred to jump rope for about 5 or so minutes to raise body temperature. Also (picked this up from Charles Staley), if your tripping all over your rope, you might not be as focused as you should be on your warmup/impending workout so go a bit longer when this happens.

Really, you don't need to go crazy with a warmup. Avoid static stretching (stretch and hold) before working out. No evidence has ever been presented that this decreases injuries and studies have shown force production levels DECREASE for a period of time after static stretching. It's much better to use a variety of calisthenic type stretches of the dynamic variety (stretching with movement). This is hard to get in the minds of a lot of athletes who have been conditioned to hold stretches before workouts. Force production decreasing is not something we want and think of it like this; Your not getting ready to put your muscles in a held state, your getting ready to use them through MOVEMENT. So make your stretching like what your preparing for.

For injury prevention you'll be pretty much covered just by warming up on this way and on your first main compound lift. How much volume? Just enough to get your form down and not to get too tired.

Another idea I like is complex training. One I like (empty bar): Deadlift bar off floor, power clean into front squat (aka full clean), push press, back squat. This is a pretty general way to warmup your whole body. Repeat the complex about 5-10 times.

Another great technique (seriously) is a mental warmup. Go over your workout in your mind, the form tips your going to use, the intensity with which your going to attack the weights.

Finally, if your not listening to music while you train do so! While it's not fully neccessary studies have shown an average of 12 percent increase in weight when you psych yourself up!

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my emergency fall back is always the Rocky theme or DMX: X gonna give it to you