As tempting as it may be to jump right into a workout, it’s not the best idea. Doing so can prevent you from getting the most out of your workout since your muscles and joints aren’t warm and prepared for the stress you’ll put on them, and it can even lead to injury. Depending on the style of training you do, your workout warmup may look different, but if you’re going on a run or doing some sort of strength or resistance training, taking the time to go through some dynamic warmup exercises is a must.
To help you get the most out of your training, Kelsey Wells, NASM-certified trainer and creator of the PWR programs on the SWEAT app, created this seven-minute, full-body workout warmup. It’s comprised of seven simple dynamic warmup exercises that’ll help you wake up your whole body and get it ready to move. “Warming up your muscles prior to working out is a key part of training and can help to activate your muscles you are about to work and reduce your risk of injury,” Wells tells POPSUGAR.
Wells’s workout warmup includes a range of cardio and dynamic stretching that can be done before most workouts. This routine will help mobilize your joints, increase your heart rate, and get more blood pumping to your muscles, she explains. Before you crush your workout, make sure you complete this quick and effective workout warmup – your body will thank you.
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Kelsey Wells’s Full-Body Workout Warmup
This workout warmup is simple: You do each one of these dynamic warmup exercises for one minute eat, then move onto the next one. Keep reading for more on how to do each move.
- Jumping jack: 60 seconds
- Cat-Cow: 60 seconds
- Four-point thoracic rotation: 60 seconds
- High plank to Downward Dog and calf pump: 60 seconds
- Inchworm: 60 seconds
- Alternating lunge: 60 seconds
- Plank: 60 seconds
Related: Strengthen and Define Your Muscles With This 6-Move Muscle-Building Workout From Kelsey Wells
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Dynamic Warmup Exercise: Jumping Jack
- Start standing with your arms by your sides and your feet together.
- Jump both feet outward so they’re wider than your hips. At the same time, raise your arms upward and outward from the sides of your body so your hands almost meet directly above your head.
- Quickly jump both of your feet inward, and simultaneously lower your arms to return to the starting position. That’s one rep.
- Repeat for 60 seconds.
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Dynamic Warmup Exercise: Cat Cow
- Start on all fours on a yoga mat. Ensure that your knees are directly below your hips and your hands are directly below your shoulders. Set your spine in a neutral position, and draw your shoulder blades down and back. This is your starting position.
- On an inhale, lift your chin and allow your stomach to sink toward the floor. Create space between your shoulders and ears by drawing your shoulder blades down and back. This is called Cow.
- On an exhale, press your hands and knees into the mat, draw your chin to your chest, and draw your stomach in to curl your spine. This is called Cat.
- Return to a neutral spine. That’s one rep.
- Repeat for 60 seconds.
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Dynamic Warmup Exercise: Four-Point Thoracic Rotation
- Start on all fours on a yoga mat. Ensure that your knees are directly below your hips and your hands are directly below your shoulders. While maintaining a neutral spine and stabilizing through your abdominals, place your right hand on the back of your head, drawing your shoulder blades down and back.
- Inhale, and slowly rotate your torso to the right, opening the right side of your chest and pointing your elbow toward the ceiling, or as far as you can go while maintaining a neutral spine and keeping your lower body as still as possible. Hold this position for one to two seconds, breathing deeply.
- Exhale, and rotate your torso to reach your right elbow toward your left hand. Hold this position for one to two seconds, breathing deeply. That’s one rep.
- Repeat for 30 seconds. Switch sides; repeat.
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Dynamic Warmup Exercise: High Plank to Downward Dog and Calf Pump
- Start in a plank position, hands under shoulders and feet about hip-width apart. This is your starting position.
- While maintaining a neutral spine and stabilizing through your abdominals, elevate your hips to create an inverted “V” shape, coming into Downward Dog. With your knees slightly bent, press your heels into the mat and tilt your tailbone upward so you feel a stretch down the back of your legs. Open your chest, relax your neck, and think about creating space between your shoulders and ears by drawing your shoulder blades down and back. Hope this position for three to five seconds.
- Shift your hips down and shoulders forward over your wrists to return to a high plank. Hold here for three to five seconds, engaging your core. That’s one rep.
- Repeat for 60 seconds.
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Dynamic Warmup Exercise: Inchworm
- Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart. This is your starting position.
- Bend at your hips with your knees softly bent, and place your hands on the floor directly in front of your feet.
- Inhale, and without moving your feet, walk your hands forward until you’re in a plank, body in one straight line from your head to your heels.
- Exhale, and without moving your feet, walk your hands back to return to the starting position, keeping your legs straight but not locked. When your hands reach your feet, stand up to return to the starting position. That’s one rep.
- Repeat for 60 seconds.
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Dynamic Warmup Exercise: Alternating Lunge
- Start standing with your feet shoulder-width apart. This is your starting position.
- Inhale, and carefully take a big step forward with your left foot, coming into a lunge. Bend both knees to approximately 90 degrees, ensuring your weight is evenly distributed between both legs. Your front knee should be over your ankle and your back knee hovering just off the floor.
- Exhale to step the left foot back to meet the right foot, returning to starting position.
- Inhale, and repeat with the right foot, stepping forward into a lunge, and then back to standing.
- Continue alternating for 60 seconds.
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Dynamic Warmup Exercise: Elbow Plank
- Start lying on a mat with your forearms (wrists to elbows) pressing firmly on the mat, elbows directly below your shoulders. Extend both legs behind you, and lift your hips off the mat, resting on the balls of your feet, coming into an elbow plank.
- Brace your abdominals, and be sure that your spine remains in a neutral position.
- Hold for 60 seconds.
