When the weather turns cold, walking straight from the car park to your first working set is asking for trouble. Stiff muscles, cold joints and a sleepy nervous system make every lift feel heavier and every strain more likely. Whether you are a seasoned lifter or a beginner, learning to warm up before lifting weights properly is one of the highest-return habits in training, and it matters most in winter. Here are the benefits and a complete 10-minute routine from the coaches at Hammer’s Gym in Nunawading. For a general cold-weather warm-up, see our winter warm up exercises guide.
Why warm up before lifting?
1. More blood flow, more range
Warming up increases blood flow to your muscles, raising their temperature and making them more pliable. Warm tissue moves through a fuller range of motion, so your squat is deeper and your press is smoother, and it is far less likely to tear.
2. Less soreness afterwards
Muscles that are gradually prepared for load suffer less micro-damage than muscles shocked into it, which means less stiffness the next day and a quicker return to training.
3. Better performance
A warm-up primes your nervous system as well as your muscles. Progressive ramp-up sets rehearse the movement pattern, so your first working set feels like a working set rather than a wake-up call, and you lift more as a result.
4. Fewer injuries
Reduced stiffness, better coordination and rehearsed movement patterns are the recipe for staying injury-free. Almost every gym strain we see happens in the first ten minutes of a session, to someone who skipped this step. See how to prevent injuries when lifting weights.
There is a mental benefit too. A deliberate warm-up tells your body the session has started, sharpening focus and motivation before the heavy work begins.
The 10-minute pre-lifting warm-up
Step 1: light cardio (3–5 minutes)
Rower, bike, SkiErg or an incline walk at an easy pace until you feel warm and your breathing has picked up. In winter, take the full five minutes and keep your hoodie on.
Step 2: dynamic stretches (2–3 minutes)
Move through your joints rather than holding stretches: 10 leg swings each way per leg, 10 arm circles each direction, 10 walking lunges with a torso twist, 10 hip circles per side and 6 inchworms. Save static stretching for after the session; before lifting it can reduce power output.
Step 3: activation (2 minutes)
Wake up the muscles that stabilise your main lifts. Before squats or deadlifts: 15 glute bridges and a set of resistance band lateral walks (10 steps each way). Before pressing or pulling: 15 band pull-aparts and 10 scapular push-ups. Our resistance bands guide has more options.
Step 4: ramp-up sets (3 minutes)
Do your first exercise with an empty bar or a very light weight for 10 reps, then two or three progressively heavier sets of 3 to 5 reps until you reach your working weight. For example, working toward a 100 kg squat: 20 kg × 10, 50 kg × 5, 70 kg × 3, 85 kg × 2, then your first working set. This is the step lifters most often skip and the one that matters most.
Winter adjustments
- Add time, not intensity. Two extra minutes of easy cardio does more than a harder warm-up.
- Layer up. Keep a jumper on until you are sweating lightly and strip layers as you go.
- Keep moving between sets on cold days so you do not cool down mid-session.
- Hydrate. You do not feel thirsty in the cold but you still lose fluid, and dehydrated muscle strains more easily.
Warm up well, lift for life
Ten minutes of preparation protects the hour that follows and every session after it. Listen to your body, take breaks if you need them and stop if anything hurts. If you would like your warm-up and lifting technique checked, our personal trainers at Hammer’s Gym can build one into your program; new members can claim a free one-day trial in Nunawading, minutes from Mitcham, Blackburn, Box Hill and Doncaster. Happy lifting.