Has anybody wondered why we do the same warmup every day?
2 Rounds:
- 30 seconds of pullups
- 30 seconds of pushups
- 30 seconds of situps
- 30 seconds of squats
And no, I am not a crazy coach that wants to bore and torture you every day with an identical warm-up. It does change and progress as well as demonstrate progress and your daily fatigue level. Therefore, I am going to spend this blog examining the idea, purpose, and approach to the CrossFit Kinnick bodyweight warmup, as I cannot take credit for this one: the guys over at CrossFit Kinnick are the creators.
First, the idea:
On average, how often do you guys see pull-ups, pushups, or air squats in a WOD?? Maybe you do each movement once a week, twice a week, max. But, to really see fast improvement on a movement, you need to perform them more often than once or twice a week. Thus, The main idea behind the bodyweight warmup was to expose athletes to the basic bodyweight movements on a pretty consistent basis since it can sometimes be weeks between WOD’s with pull-ups, push-ups, or air squats. Now, how can we do this in a way that doesn’t bore you guys, provides enough warmup without wearing you out, and can allow you to see improvement on a weekly basis?? Read on…
The Approach:
So first, why 2 rounds of 30 seconds each, and how can we do 4 minutes of work with no rest without being worn-out like after a 4 minute WOD. Well, first, 30 seconds of each movement allows enough time to get a decent number of reps done, while not taking you all the way to failure. Thus, each round of 30 seconds, you should be doing a number of reps (10-15 would be great), but not using the entire 30 seconds or doing rep after rep until you fail. Try to use 20-25 seconds for work and then 5ish seconds to transition to the next movement. You shouldn’t be completely fatigued after 2 rounds, just sufficiently warm.
Next, how to keep the warm-up from getting boring:
There are different Levels to the warm-up that you progress on throughout the week. The levels are described below:
- 5 Strict Pullups, 10 Pushups, 10 Abmat Situps, 15 Air Squats
- 10 Kipping Pullups, 7 HSPU, 5 Toes-to-Bar, 15 Jumping Squats
- 7 Kipping Chest-to-Bar Pullups, 7 Ring Dips, 7 GHD Situps, 10 Tuck Jumps
- 3 Muscle-Ups, 5 HSPU, 10 sec. Hollow Rock, 20 Air Squats
If you are able to complete the prescribed number of reps on a level for each of round of 30 seconds, you are able to advance to the next level for your next warmup. However, each week, you have to reset to Level 1 and start over on the progression. Now, what about if you are on a band for pullups, or still on your knees for pushups?? Well, if you are able to get 7 pullups each round on your band of choice, then it is time to move to a lighter band. Additionally, if you are still on your knees for pushups, you are going to work to 10 consecutive chest to deck pushups each round from your knees before switching to regular chest to deck pushups. Thus, athletes still working on getting pullups and pushups get more exposure to the movements that will have the best benefits, while more advanced athletes get exposure to a larger variety of movements. Some of you may be asking why do you have to reset every week, well, by resetting every week, you will get exposure to a wider variety of movements every week. Additionally, by resetting every week, you can see your progress in more definable terms.
Finally, by doing a similar warmup, you will be able to gauge how you are feeling for the day… if you normally do 10 pullups every round, and only get 7 today, it is a pretty good indication that your shoulders are a bit smoked and shouldn’t be pushed too hard.
So, in conclusion, how the bodyweight warmup should work:
- Meant to be a warm-up, so don’t wear yourself out
- No rest between movements
- Don’t go to failure
- Aim for 10-15 reps of each movement
- Scale up a movement if you are able to achieve the prescribed number of reps at a level
- Reset each week to Level 1
— Brought to us by CrossFit Southbay