Warm-ups/Cool-downs

[Sizzle]

i'd like to hear everyones take on this...

what do yall do for a warm-up and cool-down routine? im speaking in terms of overall, usual, rituals not just like a quick 10 rep 40% set for the muscle your working on that day. i mean like a jog/bike/elliptical warm-up and jog/bike/elliptical cool-down type of stuff.

i know you're not supposed to stretch cold muscles and all, so i'd like to here your warm-up routines. also exactly how important is a cool-down? i usually just go straight to stretching after my last set. whats a good cool-down?

thanks!

[Timbers]

on the treadmil I do 5 minutes of warm up, then after 30 minutes, I do 5 minutes of cool down.
Before lifting, I just stretch.

[lovinthis]

i hate warming up ! depletes my energy just like that
I use a weight half of what i normally would use for a certain excersise and do about 15-20 reps on it. I do this before each type of excersise (ie) bench... squat.... curl...
does that make sense....

i'm not sure if its veyr wise thou
BUT i must insist u do STRETCHES

come to think of it people why don't u post you warm up routines.....

[ralex5]

All I do to warm up is 3 to 5 minutes on the treadmill
about 8 minutes of stretching (legs,arms,back,neck, pretty much everything)
then I do a super light set of lat pulldowns with 45 lbs for 15 slow reps to crack my shoulders. The I start my routine and do a warm up set for what ever I'm working like, bench, squats, etc.

[canman]

I love the rowing machine, it is a total body work out, I'll use it either before or after weight training. I do about five minutes of concentrated ab and oblique exercises as well.

Normal routine consists of about 15-20 minutes of cardio/abs and 1 hour weights.

[Alex(AJ)]

yea, you're supposed to do some cool down stuff when you're finished, but i don't, can't be bothered (yea yea, bad me )

for warming up, all i do is take a light 10second jog, then do a movement (e.g., rows on back day, bench on chest day) w/ just the bar, throw on 1 plate on each side, then start my actual workout

[mustang GT]

For warm-up, I did a 5 minute combination of jogging in place and shadow boxing. Then I lifted lighter weight to 10 easy reps and then started my heavy lifting.

For cool-down, I did a 5-8 minute combination of jogging in place, and shadow boxing.

And I did my stretching between sets and reps.

[trooper619]

For warmup, I ride my bike to the gym which takes about 2 minutes. For cool down, I ride my bike home for 2 minutes.

[Sizzle]

Originally Posted by mustang GT

For warm-up, I did a 5 minute combination of jogging in place and shadow boxing. Then I lifted lighter weight to 10 easy reps and then started my heavy lifting.

For cool-down, I did a 5-8 minute combination of jogging in place, and shadow boxing.

And I did my stretching between sets and reps.

hmmm... i hear that stretching between exercises are good for hypertrophy, but did you experience any soreness the day after since you didnt stretch after you're workout?

[Wolfnatas]

For warmup I whirl some nunchaku around for 5 to 10 minutes or until I hurt myself. Sometimes I'll stretch between sets with some more nunchuck play. I don't mess around with the cooldown though.

[DaLinkWent]

My cooldown consists of the car ride back to work and I don't usually have time for a warm up . . . . .I just get started.

Nuchaku idea sounds interesting though . . . . .

[DragRacer]

You shouldn't stretch cold muscles for the same reason you don't lift heavy with cold muscles.

I usually jog in place for a couple mins. Then whatever exercise I'm doing, I'll do the bar only x 10, then 50% of my first real set x 10.

So bench would be;

45x10
75x10
135x10
145x8
155x6 (yeah , I'm a puss.)

Once I've done my core exercises, I don't warm up for the rest.

For cool down, I usually just stretch.

[mustang GT]

Originally Posted by Sizzle

hmmm... i hear that stretching between exercises are good for hypertrophy, but did you experience any soreness the day after since you didnt stretch after you're workout?

Well, when I say stretching between sets and reps, I stretched the last muscle that I was done working, and then I go right to my cool-down. And yes I usually experienced some type of soreness, sometimes feeling less soreness than other times.

[Plucas8916]

What is all this talk about not stretching a cold muscle? or lifting with a cold muscle?