Team Warm-Up and
Pre-Habilitation
Joe Bonyai, CSCS
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Team Warm-Up and
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Every coach will agree that movement preparation, warm up, whatever you may call it, is extremely important. Early in my teams’ programs, I coach prehab and movement preparation like any other exercise. My warm ups are designed as “previews” to that day’s workout and so many of the mechanics I include during warm up will be utilized later on. During these early phases, I need to take the time to correct postural impairments in order to prepare my athletes to load up. However, this only lasts so long. Eventually, I have to condense my warm ups in order for my athletes to get to the platforms earlier. This is either due to more volume or increased rest periods, either way I need to save some time. This doesn’t mean I send my athletes to the platforms cold and “shut off”. Most coaches can relate to having limited time and space. I create warm ups that are time-efficient and still prepare my athletes for movement, power and strength. In order to eliminate the transition time between exercises, I combine traditional dynamic warm up movements. Also, I try and use exercises that don’t require too much equipment. I rather give my athletes time to set up a platform rather than have them contest who can re-rack a physioball on one bounce. Combining exercises can be challenging for the athletes and probably shouldn’t be implemented into phase one. Once your athletes can knee-hug and lunge separately, why not put them together? As far as order and organization, I won’t include all of the following exercises within a single warm up; however, I will make sure to include exercises that target common impairments: Lumbo-pelvic stability Hip mobility Knee stability (single leg dominant) Ankle mobility Thoracic spine mobility into rotation and extension Multidimensional shoulder stability A balanced warm up is as important as a balanced training program. Alternate quad and hamstring-dominant exercises. Don’t forget to include thoracic mobility and activate shoulder stabilizers from all directions. Here are some of the exercises I use: Knee Hug-to-Lunge with Rotation The athlete should fully extend one leg as they bring the other knee towards their chest. Once in the lunge stance, they should focus on keeping the lower body stable and pushing their finger tips away from each other. This provides a stretch across a functional line from the hip to the contralateral shoulder.
Lateral/Drop Lunge-to-Toe Touch This exercise begins with a lateral lunge or drop lunge. With whichever leg the athlete extends to the side or drops behind, they’ll proceed to take a small step in front, reaching down for the ground while bending the back leg slightly. Athletes may feel a greater stretch in the calf with the toe pulled up.
Elbow/Instep with Rotation This exercise combines an elbow-to-instep lunge with thoracic rotation. Rotating towards or away from the front leg provides a stretch across two different myofascial lines as described by Myers (2001).
Single-leg RDL to Super Y or T (w/dumbbells) Your athletes should be very comfortable in a basic single leg RDL position before including Y’s, T’s or other variations.
Handwalk-to-Push up Plus If done in place, have the athlete walk their hands out as far as possible. Walk the hands back into push up position and hit a push up, push up plus or serratus push up. Continue to walk the hands back towards the toes.
Dumbbell Overhead Squat This exercise can be used as a progression from traditional overhead squats with barbells or PVC tubes. My athletes have felt this exercise more in their lower traps than any prone T or Y variation.
Squat with T-Spine Rotation This exercise combines a body weight squat with thoracic rotation. A light mini-band can be placed above the knees in order to remind the athlete to keep the lower body stable, as they rotate through the shoulders.
Cobra T or Y These exercises are used to activate scapula stabilizers and thoracic extension. I cue my athletes to pull there belly button away from the floor whenever they’re in a prone position. Athletes must understand the difference between thoracic and lumbar extension.
Diagonal (Y) or T Arm Raise Athletes should be able to keep there hips and shoulders square to the ground. Increase the difficulty by narrowing the stance or having the athlete alternate which arm is in contact with the ground.
Serratus (or) Push up Plus to T-Rotation I try to include a push up or serratus version during my warm ups for proper serratus activation and tracking of the scapula that may be impaired from too much time spent supine on a bench.
Front or Side Pillar with Abduction I love both of these versions; however, single-leg side pillars may be very difficult for many athletes to execute without compensation through lateral lumbar flexion.
“The Cool Down” Again, I wouldn’t begin any program with these types of exercises. I would progress from basic dynamic warm up movements and begin to pair them together once the athletes were proficient and bored with the same old lunges and figure-fours. Coaches and athletes both like saving time in order to get to the meat of the workout. Hopefully, coaches can use these ideas to keep their routines fresh, efficient, while still preparing their athletes to perform safely.
References
Myers, T.W. (2001). Anatomy Trains
Joe Bonyai is currently an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Springfield College in Springfield, MA where he is completing his Master’s degree in Exercise Science and Sports Studies with a focus in Strength and Conditioning. Prior to attending Springfield, Joe graduated from Gettysburg College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Health Sciences. At Gettysburg, Joe was a four year starter on the baseball team where he earned first-team all conference and academic all-American honors. Prior to attending Springfield, Joe completed full-semester internships at Velocity Sports Performance and Athletes’ Performance in Tempe, AZ. Joe is certified through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Joe can be contacted at jbonyai@spfldcol.edu.
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