# Leg Day: Warm Up Routine



## PillarofBalance (Feb 8, 2012)

Leg Warmup

There is a battle royale that will always ensue after someone suggests that you stretch before your leg workout. I don’t care to get into that sort of an argument here; although it may be inevitable. I am guilty of stretching before and after my leg workout  OMG!!! I have always done a thorough warm up for legs. My thinking for this was purely about injury prevention. I don’t care if both my arms are ripped off by a god damn velociraptor because I will still be able to build some of the biggest baddest wheels that I can.
If you were to observe others in the gym, whose warm up consists of walking from the parking lot into the gym and then hitting the squat rack with 135 on the bar for one set as a warm up, you’ll notice that even as they progress into their working sets, the first couple sets are not nearly deep enough to be called a squat. My theory behind this is that they simply are not warmed up.

Some might suggest performing moderate cardio for 10 minutes or so. I suggest not doing that. And here is my bizarre thinking behind this. The mind is sharper than we understand. It perceives things and prepares the body for them. It senses tension and releases adrenaline. That’s one example. How many of you can’t stop yawning as you walk into the gym? These things show that your body is preparing for something. I think that warming up for heavy weightlifting by performing the polar opposite of exercises – cardio is the last thing we should be doing. I've never looked up studies to support this, its just one of PoB's crazy thoughts (yeah I did just refer to myself as PoB).

Here’s a quick run through of my warm up routine on leg day.

First – Identify problem areas: Begin with a foam roller. Whatever density is just short of comfortable for you is fine. Lay on the floor on your side with the foam roller just below the hip joint (V. Lat). Roll slowly over it and if you come across knots or painful areas, simply rest on it for about 10 or 15 seconds, then continue to roll. Repeat twice. Then, lay on your stomach face down, with the foam roller across the front of your quads. Roll slowly and if you hit any knots, rest there for 10 to 15 seconds. Repeat this twice. Finally, with the foam roller on the floor, sit on it so the roller runs across the hamstrings. Slowly roll out the hamstrings. If you find knots or problem areas, rest on it for 10 to 15 seconds. Repeat this as many times as you like as hamstrings tend to be a muscle that is generally “tight.”

Second – Hi-Knee March: You may look retarded doing this, but it’s great for getting the hip joints warmed up. It’s pretty much self-explanatory. March in place bringing your knee just above the height of your hips. Do this for 30 seconds. Rest 15 seconds then repeat.


Third – To be honest the rest of this warm up I completely ganked from Dorian Yates so here is the vid lol. The stretching piece ends at 4:05.


----------

