The PT Handbook: How to Warm Up

Welcome! The PT Handbook is a physical therapy newsletter discussing all things strength and conditioning/sports medicine. This newsletter is an extension of our philosophy at Art of PT Sports Physical Therapy LLC where our patient population includes combat athletes and gym lovers. We are a PT private practice that prides itself on providing true one on one healthcare to active individuals.

This handbook is will provide everyday PT tips as well as more focused sports medicine talk. If you have any pressing questions about the field of physical therapy or need to schedule an appointment, contact us with the link below!

Dr. Gerry Robles PT, DPT

Owner, Art of PT Sports Physical Therapy LLC

www.artofpt.com

Physical Therapy Simplified: 3 Step Warm Up

Why warm up before exercise/training? Plenty of science (I won’t bore you with the studies) say it improves performance and can reduce the risk of injury. Nevertheless, think of it as priming your body and mind for whatever your respective gym session or sport requires. Here is a simple 3 step template to warm up:

1. Low Intensity cardio/aerobic work- 10 to 15 mins of low intensity cardio (zone 1 or everyone’s fav zone 2). Bike/elliptical/walk/light jog if that’s not intense for you. Get your body close to a light sweat :)

2.. Self tissue mobilization- target specific sore muscles or muscles that will mainly be used that day for your training. You can use a foam roller, lacrosse ball or any other tools that are available for self tissue release/relaxation. This helps possibly increase range of motion at certain joints by getting blood to the tissues and decreasing tone in them (relaxation). For example, a boxer may roll out his upper back/shoulder area on a foam roller to improve his flexibility with punches.

3. Dynamic stretches/training specific drills- dynamic stretches/active stretching (no not static) are stretches that move your muscles/joints through full or specific ranges of motion. These are active movements that continue to increase your body’s temp. For example, (we’ll stick with the boxer) a boxer will do some arm swings/circles as a dynamic stretch. After those, we get more specific to what our training entails. This boxer might then actually start throwing punches or practicing head movement for sport specific drills. A runner might do some light knee drives or skipping on a track to better mimic running. Or even a powerlifter might do some light squatting to better prepare for heavier working sets.

Make sense? Don’t over think it, use this template and make it your own. I promise you will feel better prepared for your specific workout with this simple 3 step process.

Until next time,

Dr. Gerry Robles PT, DPT

Founder, Art of PT Sports Physical Therapy LLC

www.artofpt.com