The Warm-up is something that I think a lot of people get too carried away with. Obviously, you need to get the athletes loose and ready to go. But some of the things I've seen are ridiculous. Just my opinion.
When I warm-up a group I take into account what we're doing that day. Lifting, speed work, agility work, general conditioning... I know from experience that it doesn't take a lot to get athletes ready to lift. When it comes to running, that's a different story. Again, this is my personal opinion.
In my constant effort to streamline everything I have "come up" with a warm-up that takes 7 minutes (when run efficiently by me). What I've noticed is:
- The athletes don't enjoy it, but they like it because they feel ready when we're done with it.
- From the get go, the athlete has to pay attention to directions and follow commands. This gets their heads ready for the workout. They can't just go through the motions.
- This warm-up gets them ready for any lift we do because it hit everything.
The general warm-up is based around the 4-count, military-style burpee. They hold each position for as long as I decide. It's usually 5-10 seconds. The first round through I hold each position for 10. The subsequent 2 rounds I move them a little quicker. Basically, once every athlete is into the position I call for I move them to the next, etc...
Execution of movement
They start standing and it moves all the way through until they return to standing.
- Prisoner Squats: 5 reps - hold bottom position for 5-10
- Push-up position: hold 5-10 seconds
- Spiderman - Right - hold 5-10 seconds (they "jump" to the Spiderman - like an over-exaggerated Mountain Climber)
- Spiderman - Left - hold 5-10 seconds
- Push-up position - hold 5
- Push-up: 1 rep
- Alternating Shoulder tap: 1 rep each
- Cross Connect: 1 rep each (in Push-up position bring right elbow and left knee together (sort of like an alternating crunch) and repeat on the other side)
- "Do the Move" - when they finish the Cross Connects they are in Push-up position. "Do the Move" is jumping to the bottom of a squat (catcher stretch) and standing up.
- *I will sometimes do an Inch Worm in place of "Do the Move".
We go through this 3 times. Each time I may add a "twist" to some of the movements. For instance, when we do Spidermans on Round 2 I'll have them do 3 elbow drops and 3 reaches (thoracic mobility). Round 3 of the Spidermans I have them do a reach opposite and hold the position (I think it's a yoga pose?) Once they all return to the basic Spiderman I'll switch them to the next movement.
Once this part is done we go right into some movement with isometrics.
- Split Squat or Lateral Squat: 10 reps with a 10 second hold at the bottom of the last rep (knee barely off the ground) - both legs
- Push-ups: 10 reps with a 10 second hold 3/4-1/2 way up
- Hip Extension (sometimes both legs, sometimes single-leg): 10 reps with a 10 second hold on the last
When I have my shit together, this portion takes 7 minutes. If you add up all the times, I think it comes out to more than 7 minutes. As they get to know the positions and understand the order, it flows. It turns into a situation where I call out the movement, they get to it, as soon as everyone is in the position I get right on to the next. It turns into constant movement with little holds in between each.
From there we go into what I call "Body Awareness". It's just 3 forward rolls and 3 cartwheels.
We finish with Jumps. My go-to is a Broad Jump. I usually get 6-12 touches. These are the ones I use the most.
- Broad Jump - jump and stick landing
- Double Broad Jump - Jump, Bounce (Hop), Stick
- Triple Broad Jump - Jump, Bounce, Bounce, Stick
I've also done these same jumps but single-leg.
In my weight room they have enough space to get 3-4 jumps. S0 I'll say 3 sets of 3. They know that means 3 touches (whatever variation I give them) down, back, down, etc...
Pretty simple.
This whole deal can be done in around 9-10 minutes. Obviously, the smaller the group the quicker it goes. I know with a groups of 25-30 I can get it all done in 9-10 minutes.
The first time through it took longer. I don't change it much because the kids start to memorize it and they get very efficient. As the semester rolls on I'll give the warm-up to the "leaders" and they handle it. I only take it back over if it becomes inefficient.
This may be hard to picture without seeing it happen. If you like the idea you can figure out how to get a hold of me and I'll have one of my assistants video the warm-up and I'll send it to you. Or, just find something similar that you like and employ the same concept.
I know this doesn't really qualify as "How I Write a Program", but it is part of the program, so I included it.