Upper Body Warm-Up! (Press Focus)

By Coach Elise Perez

A week ago we talked about how the average warm-up usually leaves much to be desired. Leaving optimal results behind and exposing us to a higher risk of injury.

The purpose of a warm-up is to increase body temperature and blood flow, prep the muscles and joints and prime the body for the specific movements that will be performed that day.

Last week, I wrote about a lower body, squat specific warm-up. You can read it here.

Today, we'll cover an upper body warm-up you can do next time your big lift of the day is a press. Maximize your time in the gym and enhance performance with this effective warm-up!

Steps 1 & 2: Dynamic Stretch/Mobility

A majority of us spend our time seated, hunched over phones and computers. When we prep for exercise, we want to hit movements that are going to combat these positions. With mobility, we are working to improve our overall ability to move and quality of movement.

With the Tall Plank to Down Dog, we're hitting lots of things at the same time! Shoulder stability, extension through the spine, as well as stretching through the hamstrings and calves. It's a simple catch-all movement that is great as the first step in your warm-up; it begins loosening up the body and signaling to the mind that it's time to work. Perform for 30 seconds and move to the next movement.

Open Books are a popular "corrective" exercise. We love this one before we're about to go press because it hits rotation through the spine and opens up the chest and front of the shoulders. Perform for 30 seconds on each side, following your top hand with your eyes and aiming to touch the floor behind you.

Step 3: Activation

The purpose of activation is to be able to stabilize all of that new range of motion we attained in steps 1 and 2. An important part of activation exercises is the muscle to mind connection; we need to perform movements that allow us to actually feel the muscle contract and then be able to carry that feeling into our lifts.

I've added two band movements here. The Pass Through can be done with either a band or PVC. We are working through the available range of motion at the shoulder's. Isn't this more mobility? You may be asking. Well, yes but as you may know the shoulders are a commonly immobile, unstable and injured part of the body. So I'm a big advocate of taking time in the warm-up to work through every part of them. Perform for 10 reps, taking the band from the front of the hips, back to your lumbar area.

The Band Pull apart is an isolation exercise, which targets the muscle groups in the upper back and shoulders. With each rep, you want to pull the band apart until it touches the chest and focus on feeling the contraction in your upper back. Work to stay out of your upper traps by keeping your shoulders relaxed. Perform for 2-3 rounds of 10 reps and move to step 4.

Step 4: Core

Before going into your heavy lifts, you must activate that core! Everything, all movement stems from our center; we need to be prepped and engaged here in order to lift heavy.

The Quadruped Shoulder Tap is awesome because it works the core and shoulder stability at the same time. This movement is harder than it looks, so take your time with it. Be sure that your wrists are stacked under your shoulders and knees under your hips. Tap one hand to opposite shoulder trying to control the hips as much as possible. Perform 2-3 rounds of 8-10 reps per side (left tap + right tap = 1 rep)

Steps 5 & 6: Grooving the Foundational Movement Pattern/Power

All of the movements in your warm-up are leading up to the big movement pattern you’ll be performing during your training. So of course, we must prime that pattern itself. And we also want to work on being powerful through that movement, once we're under max loads.

These steps are combined into one movement with the Med Ball Chest Slam. Here you actively press the ball away while working upper body power. We want this movement to match the big lift of the day and stick to lower reps, so we don’t fatigue ourselves and our nervous systems before it’s time to really do the work. Perform 2-3 rounds of a maximum of 5 powerful reps.

Happy pressing!