Today we’re going to cover a warmup routine for CrossFit. The good news is that if you’re going to a good gym and you’ve got good trainers, good coaches, your warmup is built into the programming already.

Where I go, CrossFit584 in Burlington NC, the first 20 to 30 minutes is 100% committed to a good warmup so that your brain and your body is mentally and physically prepared for the workout.

Why? I don’t feel like hurting myself!

That’s the most obvious reason why we do any kind of warmup. CrossFit has a 19% injury rate. 19%! Our goal is to never be in that 19%. You do that through a really good warmup.

The first thing that you do is start with some relaxation or breathing techniques, Box breathing is a perfect example.

Four seconds in, four seconds hold, four seconds out, four seconds hold, and do that for a good minute or two. That’s good for getting the brain and your mentality in the right place. After that, do some cardio to get the heart going and get your blood flow up. For cardio, you could do some jumping jacks, run some sprints, or if you have the equipment – 5 minutes on the assault bike or rower. If all you have is body weight do some pushups into downward dog, jumping jacks, and you are done.

Next, we want to work on mobility and stretching. Examples include stretching the posterior chain, the quads, and PVC passthroughs for shoulder mobility. Don’t forget to loosen up the wrists if you are going to do any barbell work. Any muscle group that’s going to be hit hard during the workout – make sure you stretch those areas!

Muscle activation is next and SUPER important. Muscle activation is targeting specific muscle groups and “warming them up” before the exercise. For example, if you plan on doing some squats – it’s important to work on the glutes. So a glute bridge would be perfect! You can do isometric neck exercises, isometric shoulder exercises, and many more for muscle activation.

Lastly, you want to do some movement prep. Movement prep is a slow and controlled version of the types of exercises in the main workout. If the workout is going to include a lot of hinging, Good Mornings are a fantastic example of movement prep.

Your warmup routine should encompass those five areas: breathing, cardio, mobility, muscle activation,  and movement work. If you have any questions or if you want recommendations on anything specific, just send it my way!