The warm up is a great opportunity to get better at weightlifting. It is an important tool that helps prepare you for what you are about to do, and it can be another way to work your technique… if you take it seriously. Let me explain what I mean.
First, I’ll provide an example. This is a sample warm up that I would use if I were about to work on the snatch (all movements are done with an empty barbell).
Hit Drill x10
Muscle Snatch x10
Snatch Grip Press x5
Overhead Squat x10
Snatch Balance x5
Sots Press x5
This particular warm up has 45 reps. If you focus and think through each exercise, it will drastically improve your technique in a short time. The warm up is a great opportunity to perfect your technique because you are using just a barbell (either 15lbs, 35lbs, or 45lbs). This weight isn’t going to beat you up if you do it correctly and even though it is a lot of reps, it won’t impact your overall training volume.
The key here is that you have to complete each rep with intention in order to do the warm up correctly. If you are just going through the motions, not only are you negatively impacting your current training session, you are also missing a huge opportunity to get better in the long run.
Have you ever heard someone say, “If the weight was heavier, then I would do it right”? Let’s be real… at one point or another we have all probably said or thought that. We all have to face the truth; if you can’t do it with an empty barbell, then you won’t be able to do it with heavy weight. Don’t let that be an excuse as to why you don’t take your warm up seriously!
Once you start investing a little more in your warm up, you will quickly start to see the quality of your sessions improve. If your sessions are improving then you are becoming a better weightlifter. Isn’t that what you’re working towards?
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