To get the best out of your training, it is important that you warm up sufficiently for a strength session. There are lots of ways to warm up for any given session, which is great because it means you are free to mix things up and keep your warm-ups interesting. Whatever exercises you use in your warm-up, it's good to follow the RAMP warm-up protocol.

What is a RAMP Warm Up?

A RAMP warm up has four components; it raises the heart rate, it activates your important muscle groups, it mobilises your important joints and structures, and it potentiates - progressively increasing intensity until it matches the demands of your main session.

Warm ups are important. But it is equally important to remember that their purpose is to prepare you for the session, the real work, without fatiguing you to the point of reduced session performance. A nice rule to follow to ensure that you hit this goldilocks zone is to ‘do as little as possible to feel at your best for the session at hand’.

Banded Shoulder Circle

This is great for working the shoulders through internal rotation, external rotation and circumduction, which is great for mobilising the shoulder joint for the demands of the bench press and the rack position of the low bar back squat, which is the most common squat rack preference in powerlifting, allowing you to access a greater range of motion.

Banded Pull Apart

The Resistance Band pull apart aids in activating and potentiating the performance of the traps to prepare them for the squat, bench or deadlift; the squat by improving the force with which you squeeze your shoulder blades together to hold a good rack position, the bench press by keeping your shoulders in an externally rotated position, and the deadlifts by preparing the upper back for a heavy pull off the floor.

Banded Chest Fly

The chest fly focuses on activation and potentiation of the anterior deltoid (shoulder) and the pecs for improved bench press force output.

Push Up

The push up is a no equipment warm up exercise for the bench press. If you have limited equipment and need to warm up for the bench press, you can’t go far wrong with the push up.

YTW

The YTW is another great no equipment warm up exercise. It activates and potentiates your traps and lats and mobilises the shoulder joint through an external rotated position.

Supine External Rotation

This exercise will warm up the anterior shoulder for your bench press and is a great variation to add into a pre-workout routine if you get achy shoulders when benching.

Kneeling Bottoms Up Press

This Kettlebell exercise activates the shoulders and triceps to prepare them for the stability requirements of the bench press, which helps by improving the efficiency of force application into the bar. This is because increased stability is beneficial for force output. 

Internal / External Rotation

This is ideal for mobilising the shoulders and extending the thoracic spine, which is helpful for both the bench press set up position and the back squat rack position.

Barbell Tilt

The bar tilt will help you practise the appropriate positioning of the shoulders in a bench press. Often people unrack the bar and lose their positioning, so practice is integral for a good bench press.

Whether an experienced or new powerlifter, add some of these warm-up exercises into your routine to improve your session performance. Don’t leave kilos on the table by not warming up sufficiently…

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Tags: Equipment > Kettlebells ; Equipment > Resistance Bands ; Exercise Type > Warm Ups and Cool Downs