Strength Training 101: Guide to Complete Warm-Up & Cool-Down Exercises

You go to the gym and are about to lift weights for strength training, and then bang- a sudden shooting pain just started in your elbow, shoulder, or lower back!

Have you ever been in such a situation? If so, this post has full-body warmup and cooldown exercises to help prevent injuries while boosting muscle growth!

Yes, you heard it right!

Speaking of gym injuries, there are abundant statistics on multiple gym injuries related to improper warmups.

Did you know?

Nearly 30% of gym rats or sports persons experienced muscular injuries related to a lack of warmup exercise or a poor workout regime. (Source: Web MD).

While the stats do only cover official data, there are many casual non-athletes or regular gym goers who end up tearing their tendons, ligaments, joints, and whatnot!

Don’t sweat while sitting under AC!

At Strength Iron, we’ve got you covered with our latest warm-up exercises and even guide you through the importance of cool-down exercises that not only prevent injuries but also boost your muscle growth.

Let’s bifurcate these two and understand each other in detail!

Without further ado, let’s dive in!

Table of Contents

• What is the Importance of Doing Proper Warm-Up?
  • How to Warm Up Before Lifting Weights?
  • What are the Dynamic Warm-Up Exercises?
  • Don’t forget to read the secret muscle growth tip below.
  • What are the Static Warm-Up Exercises?
  • Why Is It Important to Cool Down After Exercise?
  • What is the One Secret Tip to Increase Strength & Boost Muscle Growth?
• Final Thoughts

What is the Importance of Doing Proper Warm-Up?

Let’s first start with one of the popular questions buzzing questions on the internet- How to warm up before gym?  Before that, let’s understand what it exactly means!

To put it simply, a warm-up refers to a condition where the temperature of a human body increases a bit while making joints mobile and active. No matter whether you want to perform a strenuous workout or simple jogging for 20 minutes, you cannot overlook the importance of a good yet perfect warmup. Otherwise, you must be ready to face severe life-threatening diseases like;

• Muscle Strain
• Muscle Imbalance
• Serious Joint Injuries
• Sprains
• Tendonitis

Well, if you have suffered any of them, you can understand the pain! However, if you haven’t, try to perform some of the good warmup exercises that we’ll discuss later in the post!

Did you know?

According to the researchers, nearly 79% experienced improved performance after doing good warmup exercises. (Source: Web MD).

Sounds surprising, doesn’t it? But now the question is- What are the full-body warmup exercises to perform at the gym?

How to Warm Up Before Lifting Weights?

Warm-ups are incredibly essential weight-free exercises that you can perform anywhere without any specialized set of machines or barbells. No matter whether you’re performing squats or bench presses, we’ve categorized the top strength training warmup exercises into two different categories that may boost your heart rate in just 5 minutes.

Popular platforms like Medline, SPORTDiscus, and PubMed conducted three studies where they found that performing warm-up exercises before a workout significantly reduced the injury risk. (Source: National Library of Medicine).

What are the Dynamic Warm-Up Exercises?

If you want to increase the blood flow gradually, here are the complete full-body warm-up exercises for beginners, intermediate, and even advanced-level athletes.

#1. Jumping Jacks: Simply start with smaller jumps to create body momentum before you start lifting weights. Do at least 100 reps (or 100 short jumps) of it to create a focus. Then, immediately, perform jumping jacks without taking a rest. Similarly, you should perform 100 reps of it, as well.

#2. Twisting: Once you are done with the on-spot jump and jumping jacks, try to twist with your both legs going from one direction to another while jumping. Try to do at least 50 reps to boost the blood flow to your lower back.

Don’t forget to read the secret muscle growth tip below.

#3. Toe-Touching: When you are done with jumping and twisting, you should do static toe-touching while keeping your knees straight. Ensure you perform at least 40-50 reps of it to ensure your leg muscles are properly stretched, which will avoid injuries.

In fact, the toe-touching test is a widely adopted assessment tool that helps offer greater flexion of the ankle and overall body flexion. (Source: ScienceDirect).

#4. Leg Raises: Don’t take a rest! Then, simply do leg raises of 30-40 reps each from each leg to maintain the stability of your leg muscles.

If you perform these 4 dynamic movements, your basic warmup exercises are almost done. Now, it’s time to do “Stretching”!

Once you are done jumping and twisting stuff, you may then need to perform static (at a fixed place) and dynamic stretching (moving) to make your joints mobile.

What are the Static Warm-Up Exercises?

Let’s say you’re about to hit “chest” today! Then, you should do the following full-body warmup exercises at home or the gym:

• Arm Stretch: Ensure you stretch your arms to activate your chest muscles. Perform at least 20 reps of it to enhance the blood flow to your chest.

• Bent arm wall stretch: Simply stand facing the wall with your arms bent at a 90-degree angle. Keep your arms parallel to your shoulder height. (Source: Niel Asher Education).

• Muscle Activation With Light Weights: Before you’re about to hit your bench, try to do a bench press with light weight to make your joints active and ready to take a heavy load. Perform at least 12-15 reps (only 2 sets) to get things started.

Congratulations- You’re all set to perform your “Chest Exercise” and after this, you will surely enjoy your “Chest Day”!

But what exactly do these full-body warmup exercises for the gym do to your body? Let’s take a quick look at them!

• Increased body temperature;
• Reduces joint stiffness
• Increased blood supply to the muscles
• Increased energy and focus
• Increased mind-to-muscle connection

Here comes the next big thing that most people overlook, i.e., “Cool Down”!

Why Is It Important to Cool Down After Exercise?

You’ve done your workout and had a protein shake, great! But is it done yet?

Well, absolutely not! If you just had an intense training session, you should ‘Cool Down” your body to avoid stiffness! Otherwise, you may end up walking with your arms out and become the “new topic of entertainment” among your group.

Let’s take a body part to understand the importance of cool-down exercises!

You targeted “Legs” today (brave enough)! To cool down, try to perform these simple exercises:

• Try to hyperextend your knee for 10-15 seconds. Perform 3-4 sets from each leg.
• Quad stretch. Try to hold it from each leg for 20 seconds and then release it gradually.
• Sit on the mat and then stretch each leg for 10-15 seconds. Do at least 3-4 sets.
• For seated Hip Rotation, simply turn your head and torso to the right and place your hand on the mat or floor for support. Ensure you turn as far as possible.

Even researchers believe that an active cool-down after a strenuous workout is more beneficial for recovery than a cool-down with no activity. (Source: National Institutes of Health (NIH)).

Performing cooldown exercises is more effective at promoting post-exercise recovery than a passive cool-down involving no activity.

Though these are the cool-down exercises after your intense leg session, you can include them as warmup exercises for your legs to boost blood flow and alert your muscles before they take a heavy squat load.

Though there are multiple cooldown exercises, performing even these major ones can help you prevent injuries. Let’s say you’re targeting any other body part, try to do stretching for at least 5-10 minutes daily to avoid potential muscle injuries.

On the other hand, if you completely ignore or don’t understand the importance of cool-down exercise after the gym session, you may experience the following scenarios. Here’s what will happen if you don’t perform cool-down exercises:

• Muscle stiffness (which leads to more injuries during strength training)
• Increased risk of Injury
• Delayed muscle recovery
• Dizziness
• Increased chances of Blood pooling (due to the sudden decrease in heart rate and blood pressure)
• Fainting

Remember that building strength comes from lifting weights. If you want to lift heavy, you need to keep your joints flexible and reap maximum muscle growth benefits.

What is the One Secret Tip to Increase Strength & Boost Muscle Growth?

This is what we all have been waiting for! Though you know everything about strength training warm-up and cool-down exercises at the gym, it’s time to know the real secret of muscle growth.

Well, the best secret tip for muscle growth is to do “Posing”!

Yes, that’s what professional bodybuilders like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ronnie Coleman, Tom Platz, and more used to do!

Just think about it- How do they use to have an edge over their competition? Well, now you know the answer!

Simply “Contract” your muscles once you are done with your main exercises. Suppose, you have done a “Biceps” workout today, try to flex your bicep and hold it for <10 seconds to increase the blood flow to your overall bicep peak. Do it for 10 minutes while also including other body parts, as well.  

From increased strength to more muscle mass, regular posing for daily 10 minutes will serve the purpose.

Did you know?

An individual, on average, may burn nearly 100 calories in four rounds of posing. (Source: BarBend).

Wondering about the top gym poses? Here are the compulsory bodybuilding poses to perform at the gym to increase your strength and muscle mass.

• Front Lat Spread
• Side Triceps
• Front-Double Biceps
• Side Chest
• Back Double Biceps
• Abdominal & Thigh Pose
• Most Muscular

Final Thoughts

So, that’s the wrap to the complete warm-up & cool-down exercises at the gym or home to increase muscle strength and growth. For more such exciting updates related to gym fitness and strength and more, stay tuned to Strength Iron today!