Add Some “Flow” to Your Warm-Up
I could easily pull a fast one and just tell everyone to start playing some Tribe Called Quest or Nas during their warm-ups and call it day.
Done, you just added some flow.
But I feel that would do nothing but yield a bunch of weird looks and not really give me much “cred” as far as training advice is concerned.
My musical taste would be on point though.
Can I kick it?
Yes You Can!
After perusing a few videos from the likes of Dean Somerset, Max Shank, and Louie Guarino – and there are a litany of others – lately I’ve been toying around with more “flow” based warm-ups prior to my training sessions.
So, rather than performing the standard A (glute bridge) t0 B (ankle mobility drill) to C (T-spine mobiity) to D (forearm wall slide) to E (lunge pattern) to F (smashing my face into a cinder block from boredom) warm-up, I’ve been “flowing.”
Like This
And yes people, that is ERIC freakin CRESSEY (and Tank) doing what they do best…..videobombing me walking around in the background. Kudos to Eric for the commentary in the background too…..haha.
We like to keep things professional at the facility….;o)
This is a drill that really opens up the hips and is A LOT harder to do than it looks. Starting off, I’ll do 2-4 passes of rocking side to side working on hip internal-external rotation.
From there I’ll come up onto my knees working into terminal hip extension. I’ll also perform 2-4 passes on each side here as well.
Of Note: be careful not to hyperextend through the lower back here. Those with limited hip extension will tend to compensate with lumbar extension.
Then I’ll transition up onto my feet and work in a squat pattern, performing 2-4 passes on each side again.
I really like the seamless transition and positioning of the body and feel there’s a lot more carryover to everyday movement.
Don’t get me wrong: for most people performing a more traditional warm-up that targets problematic areas is ideal. But for those looking to step up their game, following more “flow” based warm-ups might be a nice change of pace.
Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Comments for This Entry
deansomerset
Looked good on these bud. Great work!January 29, 2014 at 10:40 am |
Shane Mclean
You would know!February 2, 2014 at 4:22 pm |
Harlan Siegel
I've been using something like this for the past week or two and really love it. I've added in some pumps (updog --> downdog) for my shoulders and back.January 29, 2014 at 11:05 am |
TonyGentilcore
Yeah, the possibilities and iterations are endless. Post some videos up on the site dude. Would love to see them!January 30, 2014 at 9:20 am |
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[…] Facebook feed this morning I saw that one of my favorite trainers, Mr. Gentilcore, shared his own flow drill so I figure why not join in on the […]January 29, 2014 at 11:44 am |
Barath
No way a grown man should do this public. Even Tank thinks that's ridiculous.January 29, 2014 at 12:29 pm |
TonyGentilcore
haha. Well, I guess we'll agree to disagree.....;o)January 30, 2014 at 9:21 am |
Saaji B
Nice to see everyone getting in on the act. Here is one of the oldest archive videos showing this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je1M6ll4kTY And I learnt this stuff from Scott Sonnon in 2011 in his first European CST certification http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXPkmwhp5SA So he is defo the man to learn this from I believe just sayingJanuary 29, 2014 at 1:59 pm |
TonyGentilcore
Cool! Thanks for sharing!January 30, 2014 at 9:21 am |
Mouse
Not sure if this is actually "flowing" or Tony's multiple attempts to stand up after doing some bulgarian split squats.January 29, 2014 at 4:54 pm |
TonyGentilcore
YEah, admittedly I was a little choppy during this set. I was a little distracted because I had like seven different people ribbing me while I was filming.January 30, 2014 at 9:22 am |
Emily
I love it. I actually do a similar hip opener warm up in my Flexibility & Movement classes. If it's hip day, we will either do hip flexor pulses first or the 90/90 opener as I call it. We use our hands to support us as we move from one side to the other but have also started to try the no hand rock too. ;) I have not moved this into my warm up with my clients (we do rock backs and glute bridges and clams..) but now I am thinking about adding this into the mix. Thanks for always giving my more food for thought as to warm up drills!!! ;)February 10, 2014 at 9:55 am |
Steven Rice Fitness
I do this to standing to add balancing. This can also be progressed by holding a weight: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10200500352765728February 10, 2014 at 4:22 pm |
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[…] Add Some Flow to Your Workout by Tony Gentilcore […]February 11, 2014 at 9:03 pm |
Mike
Okay, so this looks both a little embarrassing and also quite cool at the same time, but the main thing that people should take from this is that doing a warm up before you do any type of exercise is absolutely vital. If you don’t do this then you will find that you are much more likely to have an injury during your exercise session, which means that you would have to take a lot of time out in order to recover. Just taking a small amount of time at the beginning can make an amazing difference which is well worth it.February 27, 2014 at 4:56 am |
Amber Gregorio
Awww Tank :)October 2, 2014 at 10:47 am |
TonyGentilcore
He's a serial video bomber.October 3, 2014 at 5:02 am |
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[…] we’ll do some more specific warm ups for the hips and and shoulders. For the hips, I love this flow based warm up that Tony posted not too long […]January 20, 2015 at 10:39 am |
Paul Bruce
I'm definitely going to add this routine into my warm-up once I have the strength. It seems like a great way to strengthen the rotators and groove a squat pattern.February 16, 2015 at 12:39 am |
TonyGentilcore
it's an awesome warm-up. Give it a try tomorrow....DO IT!!!February 16, 2015 at 5:34 pm |
Paul Bruce
I finally tried this flow in my warm-up. It's sad to realize AFTER doing mini-band glute abductions and hip thrusts that they weren't necessary. This drill gets EVERYTHING.April 8, 2015 at 10:32 am |
TonyGentilcore
Glad to hear you liked it Paul.April 10, 2015 at 8:38 am |