Cold muscles are tight muscles. When the temperature drops, muscle tissue contracts and loses some of its elasticity, tendons stiffen and blood flow to your limbs slows down. That is why the first few sets of a winter session can feel heavy and awkward, and why strains and pulls are more common in the colder months. The fix is simple: spend a little longer warming up. The right winter warm up exercises raise your core temperature, loosen your joints and switch on the muscles you are about to load, so you train harder and walk out injury-free.
Below, the trainers at Hammer’s Gym in Nunawading explain why a winter warm-up matters, what to include, and a ready-to-go 10-minute routine you can use before any workout on our gym floor.
Why winter warm up exercises matter more than in summer
In warm weather your body is already partway to a working temperature before you pick up a weight. In winter, particularly if you have driven to the gym with the heater blasting and then walked through a cold car park, your muscles are starting from behind. A proper warm-up does three jobs:
- Raises muscle temperature, which improves elasticity and reduces the risk of strains and tears.
- Increases blood flow to the working muscles, delivering oxygen and preparing your heart and lungs for harder effort.
- Primes your nervous system, improving coordination, balance and the mind-muscle connection so your first working set actually feels like a working set.
There is a mental side as well. A deliberate warm-up is a transition between the day and the session. It helps you focus, settle into the gym and commit to the workout ahead rather than drifting through the first fifteen minutes.
The six best winter warm up exercises
1. Light cardio to raise your heart rate
Start with five to ten minutes of easy, rhythmic movement: a brisk walk or light jog on the treadmill, the rower, the assault bike or skipping. The goal is a light sweat and slightly elevated breathing, not fatigue. If you are training upstairs in the cardio zone, the SkiErg is an excellent full-body option for this.
2. Dynamic stretching
Static stretching before lifting can actually reduce power output. Dynamic stretches move your joints through their full range while keeping the muscles warm. Try leg swings (front-to-back and side-to-side), arm circles, walking lunges with a torso twist, high knees and inchworms. Aim for 10 to 12 repetitions of each.
3. Core activation
Your core stabilises every lift, from squats to overhead presses. Cold, sleepy trunk muscles are a common cause of lower-back niggles in winter. Two or three sets of dead bugs, bird dogs, planks or cat-cow stretches wake up the abdominals and lower back before you load them.
4. Movement-specific prep
Whatever you are training that day, rehearse it with no weight or very light weight. Before squats, do bodyweight squats and glute bridges. Before pressing, do band pull-aparts and push-ups. Before Muay Thai or boxing, shadow-box for a round. This is the part most people skip, and it is the part that makes the biggest difference to how your first heavy set feels.
5. Layer up and strip down
Wear a hoodie or long sleeves for the first ten minutes and remove layers as you warm up. Keeping heat in early means you reach a working temperature faster, and it stops you cooling down between sets on a cold morning.
6. Hydrate, even when you are not thirsty
Thirst is blunted in cold weather, but you still lose fluid through breathing and sweat. Dehydrated muscle is more prone to cramping, so drink water before you start and keep a bottle with you throughout the session.
A 10-minute winter warm-up routine
Use this before any strength, cardio or martial arts session. It takes about ten minutes and needs no equipment beyond a cardio machine.
- 4 minutes easy cardio (rower, bike, treadmill or SkiErg), building gradually from very easy to moderate.
- Leg swings: 10 each direction, each leg.
- Arm circles: 10 forward, 10 backward.
- Walking lunges with a twist: 10 each side.
- Inchworms: 6 repetitions.
- Glute bridges: 15 repetitions.
- Dead bugs: 10 each side.
- Band pull-aparts: 15 repetitions.
- Two light sets of your first exercise at 40 to 60 per cent of your working weight.
Common winter warm-up mistakes
- Cutting it short because you are cold. Being cold is the reason to warm up for longer, not shorter.
- Static stretching first. Save long holds for your cool-down, when they help with recovery and flexibility.
- Jumping straight to your working weight. Ramp up over two or three lighter sets so your joints and nervous system are ready.
- Going too hard. A warm-up should leave you feeling ready, not tired. If you are breathless, back it off.
Warm up properly, train all winter
Winter is where consistency is won or lost. The members who keep turning up through June, July and August are the ones who arrive in spring stronger, leaner and fitter than they left it. A thorough warm-up makes every one of those sessions safer and more productive.
If you are not sure how to structure your warm-up for your specific goals, our personal trainers can build one into your program, and every group class at Hammer’s Gym begins with a coached warm-up. New to Hammer’s? Grab a free one-day trial and see how a proper winter warm-up changes your training. We are in Nunawading, minutes from Mitcham, Blackburn, Box Hill and Doncaster.
Looking for more cold-weather training ideas? Read The Best Winter Workouts to Burn Calories and How to Stay Consistent with Training as the Weather Gets Colder.