Warm-up: the most underestimated part of training

Three lads are kneeling side by side in front of the mirror, briefly rolling their shoulders, tapping their phones once – then immediately loading 80 kg onto the barbell. No stretching, no gentle warm-up, nothing. On the treadmill nearby, a woman straight from the office puts in her headphones, turns up the pace and sees her heart rate shoot up after 30 seconds. Two minutes later, she is gripping the side rail and rubbing her thigh. You see this scene almost every day. And every time, the thought is the same: it works until, suddenly, it does not.

The most underestimated part of training

We all like talking about new PBs, visible abs and the “perfect” training plan. Hardly anyone talks about warming up, even though this stage often determines whether you train over the long term or eventually end up on the sofa with an ice pack. The unvarnished truth is that a proper warm-up is less exciting, but it protects your muscles, tendons and joints like a quiet bodyguard.

Many people confuse “I have no time” with “I cannot be bothered”, and the first thing they cut is precisely the part they should be least willing to skip. A few arm circles, two bounces towards the floor – then straight into maximum effort. Anyone who starts like that is playing the lottery with their muscles every time.

You can see it especially clearly in gyms after 6 pm on Mondays. The benches are occupied and the atmosphere is charged. Martin, 34, with an office job, wants to “get back into it” after a three-week break. He briefly mentions stress and lack of sleep, then puts his old working weight straight on the bar. He does exactly three half-hearted warm-up reps, moving only from the elbow and with no control. On the third proper repetition, his face twitches, the bar tilts and he slams it back into the rack. He immediately grabs his shoulder; the session is over before it has even begun.

These situations do not appear in health-insurance statistics, yet sports doctors repeatedly report the same pattern: people who do not want to “waste time” warming up arrive at the clinic with muscle strains, torn muscle fibres or inflamed tendons. According to a major analysis by the German Sport University Cologne, a substantial proportion of common muscle injuries in recreational sport could be significantly reduced with a slightly more structured warm-up. Not through high-tech kit or expensive equipment, but through 10–15 focused minutes at the start.

The reasoning is straightforward and unforgiving at the same time. Muscles are not machines that can go from zero to full speed simply because you want them to. They respond to temperature, blood flow, nerve signals and movement angles. When you launch into an explosive or heavy movement while cold, muscles and tendons are under tension before they can properly “glide”. That increases the likelihood of overloading individual fibres – particularly during jumps, sprints or heavy lifts.

A solid warm-up raises muscle temperature by a few degrees, which makes them more elastic. Blood flow increases, the nervous system “switches on” and your coordination adapts to the task ahead. Suddenly, you perform the movement pattern more cleanly, need less “strength” for the same output and react more steadily when something unexpected happens. Let us be honest: nobody manages it every single day. But anyone who does it consistently in 70 per cent of their sessions can dramatically reduce their injury risk without loading a single extra kilogram.

What a proper warm-up really looks like

Rather than bouncing around aimlessly, follow a simple structure: general first, then targeted, then specific. General means 5–7 minutes of easy activity that gently raises your heart rate – rowing, relaxed cycling, light jogging or even skipping. The aim is not to exhaust yourself, but to ease into your body gradually. By the end, you should feel warmer and perhaps be lightly sweating, while still able to talk comfortably.

Targeted means preparing the exact joints and muscles that will be working next. For a leg session, this includes hip circles, light bodyweight squats, controlled lunges and activated ankles. For upper-body sessions, focus instead on shoulder circles, scapular push-ups, and light pulling and pressing movements using minibands. Every repetition is like a friendly reminder to your body: things are about to get serious.

Specific means performing the movement you have planned – just with less load. Anyone squatting begins with the barbell or bodyweight alone. Anyone planning to bench press starts with a very light weight and plenty of clean repetitions. You then increase the load step by step until you reach your working weight. Three to four warm-up sets are normal, and yes, they take time. In return, you gain something invaluable in training: confidence in every single repetition.

The most common warm-up mistake may not be ignoring it entirely, but treating it as something to get through half-heartedly. A bit of cycling while still checking Instagram. Two mildly bored stretches while chatting with friends. The issue is that your mind is elsewhere and your body is on standby. We all know that moment when your thoughts are still at the office while the barbell is already in your hands. That is exactly when the silly, almost embarrassing injuries happen – stepping beside the treadmill or twisting an ankle during an unfocused lunge.

Anyone who spends many hours sitting each week needs a warm-up that accounts for that daily routine. Tight hips, chest pushed forwards, tense neck – then straight into overhead presses? Not a good idea. Spend five extra minutes on mobility movements rather than passive stretching, especially for your hips, thoracic spine and shoulders. And remember: a warm-up does not have to be “perfect”. A straightforward, repeatable routine that you know and genuinely do is far better than a fancy plan that ends up in a drawer after two weeks.

“Of ten muscle injuries I see in my clinic, I would say six or seven could certainly be avoided with a better warm-up – not all of them, but very many,” says a sports doctor I meet at a rehabilitation clinic. “People overestimate what they need to achieve in one training session and underestimate how little it takes to protect themselves.”

What specifically helps prevent the classic warm-up mistake:

• Start every session with 5–7 minutes of general movement that makes you lightly sweat.
• Include 3–4 simple mobility exercises that “reset” your office posture.
• For your main exercise, complete at least two lighter warm-up sets before moving to your working weights.
• Do not train with music or your phone in hand during your warm-up – focus briefly on your body alone.
• Finish your warm-up with a movement that feels deliberately powerful while remaining controlled.

Why the “unremarkable” minutes pay off in the end

After a long day, people heading to the gym often want a quick hit: feel the weight, work themselves hard and clear their head. Warming up can seem like an irritating obligation, rather like brushing your teeth before bed. Yet it is in these unremarkable minutes that the difference between short-lived motivation and a long training career is made. You are not only strengthening your muscles; you are also developing body awareness. You notice early whether it is a good day or whether you should ease off before something tears.

Many people only recognise the value of a proper warm-up after something has gone wrong. The strained thigh before a half marathon, shoulder pain after “ego bench pressing”, the persistent pull in the Achilles tendon after starting jogging too hard. Suddenly, the 10 minutes previously “saved” seem insignificant next to the six-week break you now have no choice but to take. And you begin to view those people in the gym who appear to be working with “only” a broomstick or an empty barbell quite differently.

Perhaps the key is to see warming up not as a chore but as a ritual. A small boundary between daily life and training, between screens and sweat. Taking that time sends a quiet message to yourself: I take my body seriously. Not just the result in the mirror. That changes how we train and how patient we are with ourselves. In the end, it is often these quiet routines that determine whether we can still jog pain-free at 40 or are already saying “I used to be sporty” at 30.