Warming up is crucial — not optional — to help avoid injury during activity. Here’s how to do it right

Whether you’re heading into a pickleball match, a strength-training session or out to do yard work, it’s easy to treat warming up as an optional few minutes of stretching before the “real” activity begins.

But a warm-up isn’t about simply making you feel looser. Consider it a part of the activity — a crucial first step to prepare your muscles, joints, nervous system and breathing for the movements, ranges and intensity you’re about to ask of your body.

The right kind of warm-up not only prepares you to take on tasks but can also enhance how well you perform them and help prevent injury .

Too often, people gravitate toward long-held static stretches to prepare the body for movement. Although these movements have a role in recovery and corrective exercise, they don’t belong in warm-ups.

Research has repeatedly shown that static stretching isn’t advantageous for preparing your body for dynamic activity and can even hamper performance. A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis found the clearest strength deficits after static stretches lasting 60 seconds or longer. That’s why it’s important to avoid long-held stretches as prep work.

As a mobility coach in professional sports, I never use stretches held for greater than 30 seconds in my athletes’ warm-up programs. Dynamic stretching and mobility work are more productive as a means of preparation. These movements take joints through active ranges of motion, lengthening and engaging muscles to support and control movement.

Another common misconception is thinking length equates to quality. A strategically efficient few minutes can be more effective than 30 minutes of unnecessary exercises. Your warm-up should take anywhere from about six to 16 minutes. I’ve provided time-frame estimates below; your exact range will depend on what you’re preparing to do and how you feel that day.

You don’t need a long routine or a complicated list of exercises. Use the following four-part framework to customize your warm-ups to best meet your needs. Work within the context of your activity’s demands without overdoing it. The goal is to feel warmer, more coordinated and better prepared, not fatigued.

Note: Before starting this or any new exercise program, consult your doctor or physical therapist.

1. Breathe and roll (2 to 3 minutes)

Breathing is your most fundamental movement pattern, so it’s the logical starting point for any warm-up. The diaphragm does more than drive respiration — it’s also a stabilizing core muscle that plays a role in postural control. How you breathe influences the position of your rib cage over your pelvis, in turn impacting how your shoulders, spine and hips function.

Take a few long, deep breaths focused on establishing proper breathing mechanics and rib movement to support diaphragm function and postural alignment . Your lower ribs should expand out with inhales and move in, back and down as you exhale.

Pair your controlled breathing with strategic soft-tissue preparation, using a foam roller. Target any areas that feel particularly restricted. Common lower-body tension points to address include calves, quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes .

A foam roller can relieve soreness and increase range of motion at the same time

A 2020 systematic review of 49 studies found foam rolling can reduce muscle stiffness and increase range of motion without negatively affecting performance and recommended combining it with dynamic stretching and active warm-up exercises, like the ones that follow.

2. Raise your temperature (1 to 3 minutes)

Next, spend a couple minutes on easy, rhythmic movement that elevates your heart rate and warms your muscles. Walk briskly, march in place, pedal a stationary bike or perform low-impact jumping jacks.

The point is not to tire yourself out, just to feel your body getting warm. A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis found that increasing muscle temperature improves fast force production and muscle power. Think of this stage like preheating the oven before use.

3. Mobilize and activate (2 to 6 minutes)

Now move dynamically, doing exercises that cover the six fundamental movement patterns: squat, hinge, push, pull, rotate and stabilize. I also like to incorporate single-leg balance into these patterns combined with hinging or stabilizing movements. At the same time, you’ll be moving through the three planes of motion your body uses in everyday life: sagittal (forward and backward), frontal (side to side) and transverse (rotational).

That may sound like a lot, but it doesn’t require nine separate exercises. Compound movements can check several boxes at once.

For instance, a forward or reverse lunge with an overhead reach combines a squat and push movement in the forward-and-backward plane of motion.

Add rotation to an airplane or Romanian deadlift (RDL) exercise — a lower-body strength exercise targeting hamstrings, glutes and lower back — and you combine hinge, rotation and balance patterns in the forward-and-backward and rotational planes of motion.

Add a row or reach-and-pull pattern to a lateral lunge and you are combining lower-body activation, stabilization and a pull pattern in the side-to-side plane.

Modify as necessary and only move through ranges you can control. A warm-up is not the time to push your limits. Gradually increase your comfortable, pain-free range as your body warms. Keep the effort easy enough that your movement quality improves rather than deteriorates.

4. Rehearse what comes next (1 to 5 minutes)

This is where your warm-up becomes most specific to your needs, and where generic stretching and movement most often fall short. Your final few minutes should increasingly resemble the activity you’re about to do.

If you’re about to go for a run, start with jogging in place or for a short distance. Before strength training, perform lighter versions of your first exercises, gradually adding load. For pickleball or tennis, add lateral shuffles, split steps and controlled rotational swings. If you’re hiking a steep ascent and descent, practice progressively higher step-ups and controlled deceleration with slow step-downs.

The closer your warm-up brings you to the actual speed, direction and movement demands of your activity, the less abrupt the transition from preparation to performance.

Not every warm-up needs equal time in every phase. An activity like heavy strength training requires more time in the rehearsal phase to focus on progressive loading. A lighter, functional training workout needs much less rehearsal after the mobilization and activation.

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As you get more familiar with the formula, you can make your warm-ups more efficient and effective by integrating the bulk of step four’s rehearsal movements into steps two and three. Going back to the hiking example, when warming your body, you could do high-knee marching. Then activate and mobilize with movements such as walking lunges with reaching and rotating, lateral lunges, step-ups and step-downs.

No matter the activity, the formula stays the same — only the emphasis changes. You’re still preparing the body in the same four ways, but efficient warm-ups combine those demands whenever possible to address what you specifically need that day.

Dana Santas, known as the “ Mobility Maker ,” is a certified strength and conditioning specialist and mind-body coach in professional sports, and is the author of the book “Practical Solutions for Back Pain Relief.”

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无论你是要去参加匹克球比赛、力量训练还是去院子里干活，都很容易把热身运动当作在“真正”活动开始前可有可无的几分钟拉伸运动。

但热身不仅仅是为了让你感觉更放松。把它看作是运动的一部分——至关重要的第一步，它能让你的肌肉、关节、神经系统和呼吸做好准备，迎接你即将对身体提出的各种动作、幅度和强度要求。

正确的热身不仅能让你为接下来的任务做好准备，还能提高你的任务完成质量，并有助于预防受伤。

人们常常倾向于进行长时间的静态拉伸来为运动做准备。虽然这些动作在恢复和矫正训练中发挥着一定作用，但它们并不适合作为热身运动。

研究反复表明，静态拉伸不利于身体为动态运动做好准备，甚至会降低运动表现。2024年的一项系统性综述和荟萃分析发现，持续60秒或更长时间的静态拉伸会导致最明显的力量下降。因此，避免长时间的静态拉伸作为运动前的准备工作非常重要。

作为一名职业运动的灵活性教练，我从不在运动员的热身计划中使用超过30秒的拉伸动作。动态拉伸和灵活性训练作为准备手段更为有效。这些动作能让关节进行主动活动，拉伸并激活肌肉，从而支撑和控制运动。

另一个常见的误解是认为时长等同于质量。几分钟高效的热身可能比30分钟不必要的练习更有效。你的热身时间应该在6到16分钟之间。我在下面提供了一些时间范围的估计；你的具体时间取决于你准备进行的运动以及你当天的身体状况。

你不需要冗长的流程或复杂的练习清单。使用以下四步框架来定制最适合你需求的暖身运动。在运动强度范围内进行，切勿过度。目标是让你感觉更温暖、更协调、准备更充分，而不是感到疲惫。

注意：在开始这项或任何新的锻炼计划之前，请咨询您的医生或理疗师。

1. 深呼吸并翻滚（2至3分钟）

呼吸是最基本的动作模式，因此也是任何热身运动的理想起点。横膈膜的功能远不止驱动呼吸——它还是一块稳定的核心肌群，在姿势控制中发挥着重要作用。你的呼吸方式会影响肋骨在骨盆上的位置，进而影响肩部、脊柱和髋部的功能。

做几次深长的呼吸，专注于建立正确的呼吸机制和肋骨运动，以支持横膈膜功能和姿势调整。吸气时，下肋骨应该向外扩张；呼气时，下肋骨应该向内、向后、向下移动。

将控制呼吸与针对软组织的有效放松相结合，使用泡沫轴进行放松。重点放松任何感觉特别紧绷的部位。常见的下半身紧张点包括小腿、股四头肌、腘绳肌和臀肌。

泡沫轴可以同时缓解酸痛并增加活动范围。

2020 年一项对 49 项研究进行的系统性回顾发现，泡沫轴按摩可以减轻肌肉僵硬，增加活动范围，而不会对运动表现产生负面影响，并建议将其与动态拉伸和主动热身运动相结合，例如以下这些运动。

2. 提高体温（1至3分钟）

接下来，花几分钟时间进行一些轻松、有节奏的运动，以提高心率并热身肌肉。可以快走、原地踏步、骑固定式自行车或做低冲击的开合跳。

重点不在于让自己筋疲力尽，而在于感受身体逐渐升温。2025年的一项系统性综述和荟萃分析发现，提高肌肉温度可以改善快速力量输出和肌肉爆发力。你可以把这个阶段想象成使用烤箱前预热。

3. 动员和激活（2至6分钟）

现在开始动态运动，练习涵盖六种基本运动模式：下蹲、髋屈、推、拉、旋转和稳定。我喜欢将单腿平衡融入这些模式中，并结合髋屈或稳定动作。同时，你也将体验到身体在日常生活中使用的三个运动平面：矢状面（前后运动）、额状面（左右运动）和横断面（旋转运动）。

这听起来可能很多，但并不需要九个独立的练习。复合动作可以同时满足多个要求。

例如，向前或向后弓步并向上伸展，结合了向前和向后运动平面上的深蹲和推的动作。

在飞机式或罗马尼亚硬拉 (RDL) 练习中加入旋转动作——这是一种针对腘绳肌、臀肌和下背部的下肢力量练习——就可以将铰链、旋转和平衡模式结合到前后和旋转运动平面上。

在侧弓步中加入划船或伸展拉的动作模式，就能将下肢激活、稳定性和左右平面上的拉的动作模式结合起来。

根据需要调整动作幅度，并且只在你能控制的范围内进行运动。热身不是挑战极限的时候。随着身体逐渐暖和起来，逐步增加舒适且无痛的运动幅度。保持动作强度适中，这样才能提高你的动作质量，而不是降低它。

4. 预演接下来的内容（1至5分钟）

这时，你的热身动作就要根据自身需求进行最具体的调整，而一般的拉伸和运动往往难以奏效。最后几分钟，你的热身动作应该越来越接近你即将进行的运动。

如果你准备跑步，可以先原地慢跑或短距离慢跑。力量训练前，先做一些较轻重量的练习，然后逐渐增加负重。打匹克球或网球时，可以加入侧向滑步、分腿步和控制旋转摆动等动作。如果你要徒步攀登陡峭的山坡，可以练习逐渐增加上台阶的高度，并练习缓慢下台阶时的控制减速。

热身越能使你的身体接近实际运动的速度、方向和动作要求，从准备到比赛的过渡就越自然。

并非所有热身运动都需要在每个阶段花费相同的时间。例如，大重量力量训练需要在预热阶段花费更多时间，以便专注于渐进式负荷。而较轻的功能性训练在活动和激活之后，则需要较少的预热时间。

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专家评选的9款最佳踝关节支撑鞋（图片由CNN Underscored提供）

随着你对这套方法越来越熟悉，你可以将第四步的大部分练习动作融入到第二步和第三步中，从而使你的热身更加高效。以徒步旅行为例，在热身时，你可以进行高抬腿行进。然后，通过一些动作来激活和活动身体，例如带伸展和旋转的行走弓步、侧弓步、上下台阶等。

无论进行什么运动，基本原理都一样——只是侧重点有所不同。你仍然要用同样的四种方式来准备身体，但高效的热身会尽可能地将这些需求结合起来，以满足你当天的具体需求。

达纳·桑塔斯（Dana Santas），被称为“运动能力提升专家”，是一位获得认证的力量和体能训练专家和职业体育身心教练，也是《缓解背痛的实用解决方案》一书的作者。

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