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Warm Up

This is Maddy's general pre-session warm-up: a few minutes raising the pulse, then dynamic movements that take the day's joints and muscles through their working ranges. It is a routine rather than a single exercise — the template below adapts to whatever session follows. Coached by Maddy (NASM-CPT) — these are the exact form cues he gives on every client's first week.

Muscles worked

Quads · quadriceps Glutes · gluteus maximus Calves · gastrocnemius Abs · rectus abdominis Shoulders · deltoids

Sets & reps by goal

Goal	Sets × Reps	Rest
Strength	5-6 min: pulse-raiser + 2 rehearsal movements	none
Muscle	8 min: pulse-raiser + full joint circuit + rehearsal	none
Endurance	10 min: extended pulse-raiser + mobility circuit	none

Level — Beginner

Beginner; the skill is matching the warm-up to the session, and the template does that by design.

Proper form — 5 cues

Start with 2-3 minutes of easy pulse-raising — marching, toe taps, or light jacks.
Move every major joint through its range: circles for shoulders and wrists, hinges and squats for hips.
Keep the intensity conversational — you should finish warmer, never tired.
Spend the last minutes rehearsing lighter versions of the session's first exercise.
Total 5-10 minutes; longer for early mornings, cold rooms, or heavy sessions.

Breathing: Nasal breathing through the easy phases; let the breath rate rise naturally with the pulse-raiser.

The 3 mistakes Maddy corrects most

Using long static stretches as the whole warm-up.. Parking in stretches does little to raise tissue temperature or rehearse movement, which are the two jobs a warm-up has before training. Fix: Lead with movement — dynamic ranges and light cardio — and save the long holds for after the session.

Turning the warm-up into a workout.. Arriving at your first working set already fatigued costs more performance than a thorough warm-up ever adds. Fix: Cap it at ten minutes and stop any drill well short of burn; the session is the point, the warm-up is the doorway.

Running the same generic routine before every session type.. A leg-day warm-up that never squats, or a pressing day that never moves the shoulders, leaves the actual working joints cold. Fix: Keep the pulse-raiser generic but steer the last half toward the day's first lift — light squats before squats, band pulls before pulls.

Common questions

Do I really need to warm up for a home workout?

Yes — the logic has nothing to do with location. Warm tissue produces force better, joints move further with less protest, and the first working set feels like your third instead of your first. Home sessions often start cold from a chair, which makes the warm-up more relevant, not less. Five minutes is the honest minimum; it is the cheapest performance upgrade available.

Static or dynamic stretching before training?

Dynamic movement is the default before training: leg swings, arm circles, bodyweight squats, and the specific drills in this library like cat-and-cow or downward-dog transitions. Long static holds are better placed after the session or on separate days, where their relaxation effect is a feature rather than a cost. Brief static holds for one genuinely stiff area are a reasonable exception.

How do I know when I'm warm enough?

Three practical markers: you have a light sweat starting or feel clearly warmer than when you began, the day's key joints move through their needed range without stiffness, and a light rehearsal set of your first exercise feels smooth rather than creaky. If any marker is missing, spend two more minutes — chasing all three usually lands between five and ten minutes.

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