THE

JOURNAL
Warming Up and Stretching:
The Neglected Disciplines
If you don’t warm up or stretch, you aren’t optimizing your performance.
Bill Starr explains.

By Bill Starr October 2010

S.Dy/CrossFit

Getting considerably stronger and staying that way is largely a matter of taking care of the details, such as training
consistently, designing a program that fits your individual needs, eating wholesome foods, taking nutritional
supplements, getting plenty of rest and so forth.

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 Warming Up ... (continued)

risk of injury—which might be no more than a slight ding

in the hamstrings, but even that curtails progress until it
heals. Stretching the muscles and corresponding attach-
ments after a strenuous session helps to improve overall
flexibility, lessens muscle soreness and enhances recovery.

It’s my opinion that

most who ignore
doing any warm-up
movements or
stretching do so
because they’re lazy.
Staff/CrossFit Journal

In some cases, the two disciplines are skipped because the

Warming up and stretching are two different things. athlete has never been taught their value, and because no
Learn the difference! one else in the gym does any warm-ups or flexibility work,
why should he—even though an abundance of evidence
Most serious strength athletes take care of these tasks shows how beneficial stretching and warming up are to a
diligently, yet at the same time they’re negligent when it hard-training athlete. However, it’s my opinion that most
comes to two other disciplines that are most important to who ignore doing any warm-up movements or stretching
success in the weight room: warming up and stretching. do so because they’re lazy. There’s nothing difficult about
Are You Lazy? either of them. All it takes is a bit of time, and if someone
is serious about his training, he will make the time to
I’ve watched athletes in a wide range of sports spend
do both.
20 minutes or more stretching out their muscles and
doing various drills to warm up their bodies before a Then there is the confusion about how warm-ups and
practice session or game. But when they walked into the stretching benefit the athlete. Many are of the opinion that
weight room, they started lifting without doing anything if they do some stretching prior to a workout, they have
to prepare themselves for the stress of moving heavy also warmed it up. Not true. Merely stretching out your
poundages in a wide range of exercises. And when they hamstrings before squatting is not enough. It may be suffi-
finished their sessions, they never bothered to stretch out cient preparation if someone is about to walk or go on a
those fatigued muscles. Rather, they picked up their gym slow jog, but not even close when a 400-lb. squat is on the
bags and left. agenda. Because a great many stretching and warming-
up movements are closely related, it’s often assumed that
Sound familiar? It should, because it happens in nearly
they do the same things for the body. Another miscon-
every fitness facility in the country on a daily basis.
ception. While both are useful for every athlete, they’re
It’s a mistake too many aspiring athletes make simply two different activities and provide very different benefits.
because they do not understand the importance of the
Warming up is just what the name implies: doing an
two disciplines in terms of making steady gains and
exercise that helps to elevate your body’s core temper-
avoiding injuries. A proper warm-up will help anyone have
ature. This needs to be done before anyone proceeds to
a better session with the weights and greatly reduce the

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 Warming Up ... (continued)

more strenuous physical activities. An effective warm-up One of the real pluses of warming up that is frequently
routine need not be complicated. Just the opposite, in fact: overlooked is that it also benefits the nervous system.
the simpler the better. Research has shown that a higher core temperature clears
the way for the body to be able to read and receive nerve
Warming up activates the enzymes responsible for the
impulses. This is of particular importance to anyone doing
many chemical reactions that occur during physical
high-skill exercises in his or her program, such as Olympic
exercise. The body’s energy system depends on those
lifters and those who include power cleans, power
enzymes and, until they’re released, the energy system will
snatches, high pulls or any other dynamic exercises in their
not function properly. This is why an athlete feels sluggish
weekly routines.
at the beginning of a workout if he’s failed to warm
up properly. In addition, a warm-up routine helps the Warming Up Properly
body deliver more oxygen to the muscles. Hemoglobin A complete warm-up involves two stages, and the second
is responsible for transporting oxygen to the working stage consists of two parts, so some contend that there
muscles, and it’s able to do the job more effectively when are three stages. The first stage is basic. Do an activity that
the muscle fibers are warm. The slightly higher temper- elevates the overall body temperature. Nothing compli-
ature creates a positive pressure between the muscles cated here. Calisthenics are good, as is riding a stationary
and bloodstream, allowing more oxygen to go where it’s bike or skipping rope. A number of the Olympic lifters at
needed. An elevated body temperature enhances the York Barbell preferred skipping rope because it not only
entire cardiovascular system by helping the arteries, veins elevated their body temperature but also helped them get
and capillaries deliver nutrients and carry away waste their foot speed, coordination and timing tuned up for the
products more expeditiously. coming workout.
S.Dy/CrossFit

Stretching before a workout or competition can help you achieve the range of motion critical for success.
This can be key in sports like Olympic lifting, where flexibility is essential.

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Warming Up ... (continued)

How long should this first phase last? That depends on

a number of factors, with the weather being the biggest
one. In very warm or hot weather, the body doesn’t need
much in the way of warming up. In contrast, in severely
cold weather the warm-up activity might take 15 minutes
or longer before the body is ready for heavy lifting. And
some days, it just takes longer than usual to get the body to
respond. This may be due to a poor night’s rest or because
of an extra hard workout at the previous session. The rule
of thumb I follow is when I start huffing and puffing from
the exertion of the warm-ups, I’m ready to move to the
next step.
But before I go into that, I’ll lay out a warm-up routine that
has served me well throughout the years and requires little
in the way of equipment. I start out with 202 sit-ups, quickly
followed by 50 back hyperextensions, and then I go to
work with a stick. Usually, I found a broomstick in a closet
and that was all I needed. I would place it behind my neck,
bend over and do 100 twists, then raise it over my head
with my arms straight and bend side to side for another
100 reps. By the time I was finished, I was breathing hard
and I had not only elevated my body temperature, but I
had also made sure that my core groups were ready for
whatever was ahead.

I think it’s critical to have

the abs and lower back
primed and ready for
an upcoming workout.

S.Dy/CrossFit
I think it’s critical to have the abs and lower back primed
and ready for an upcoming workout. Some people have Some athletes don’t believe in warm-ups, but the smart ones
criticized me on using sit-ups instead of crunches because know proper prep improves performance.
sit-ups involve the legs to some extent. But that’s exactly
why I prefer them over crunches as a warm-up exercise. This part should be specific to the first exercise in the
I want the legs to be part of the movement because I’m program. I’ll give a few examples. Back squats come up
going to be working my legs very soon thereafter. first, so do 1 set of 20 reps on the adductor, leg-curl and
leg-extension machines. If the gym is cold, do 2 sets. These
When I found myself in a situation where I was still not will not tap into the leg strength but will get blood into
warm enough after this routine, as when it was in the those large muscles quite nicely. For any upper-body
teens in Fielder’s Shed in the dead of winter, I would do exercise, do a set of overhead presses, and lateral and
jumping jacks until I started sweating. Only then did I frontal raises with dumbbells for 20 reps each. Still don’t
move to Phase 2 of the warming-up process. feel ready? Do another circuit.

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 Warming Up ... (continued)

S.Dy/CrossFit

Can’t rack it? Stretch it.

For power cleans, full cleans, jerks and front squats, do the from the upright. While you’re doing the various forms of
exercises I just mentioned to warm up your shoulders, warm-ups, use that time to think ahead to the workout
then spend time stretching them out so you’ll be able to you plan to do. Picture yourself doing each set and what
rack the bar across your frontal deltoids without any diffi- you must do to succeed with that final work set. Focus on
culty. To do this, lock a bar in a power rack or load up a bar the form points for the exercises you’re about to do and
on a staircase squat rack with more weight than you can you’ll discover that you will be much more confident as
budge, then grip the bar with one hand and elevate your you move through the session.
elbow as high as possible. Hold that top-most position
I also believe it’s a smart idea to stretch out your hams and
for an 8-10 count. Do the other arm, and do as many sets
shoulders even if you’re not going to be doing an exercise
as you need to feel the muscles start to relax. Now grip
that directly involves them first in your program. During
the bar with both hands and elevate them at the same
my vagabond period when I traveled around the country
time. Have someone assist you because that will help
and stayed with friends in Hawaii, California, Texas, North
you lift your elbows higher than if you did the movement
Carolina and Maryland, I got to train in gyms with a lot of
by yourself.
powerlifters. When the weather got colder, a large number
In this same vein of thought, spend a few moments of them would come to me complaining of severe pain in
stretching out your hamstrings before you move to the one or both of their shoulders. I would always ask. “Are you
squat rack, and loosen your shoulders by grasping the doing anything to warm them up?”
upright of a power rack and twisting your torso away

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 Warming Up ... (continued)

“Absolutely!” they would declare. “A good warm-up, extra Starting Light

sweatshirt and even some muscle rub.” Then they would The final stage is really no more than an extension of the
add, “But the funny thing is I don’t feel any pain when I’m second one. It consists of using light weights for the first
benching. It only hurts when I squat.” few sets of an exercise. This is no more than common sense
Eureka! A clue. I explained that their shoulders were very and is built into most routines. The lighter poundages
much a part of the squat, especially the way they did allow you to concentrate on your form and set up a tight
them with the bar set low on their backs. The shoulders pattern for when the weights get heavier, and they let the
were being placed under a tremendous amount of stress body get better prepared for the harder work just ahead.
when they did those low-back squats with heavy weight. Yet I am amazed at how many people in gyms ignore this
They were, of course, skeptical, but when they did as concept and try and start right out with weights that are
I suggested—spend 5-10 minutes warming up their close to their max. Their rationale? Doing all those light
shoulders with light dumbbells—the pain went away. sets taps into their top-end strength. Let me state this, if an
Doing heavy squats without warm shoulders is much like athlete is in such sad condition that he can’t recover from
doing a maximum isometric contraction on cold muscles. 3 or 4 warm-ups sets, he needs to do something about
That’s why it’s a good idea to make certain all the major his endurance.
muscle groups are primed and ready for the work ahead.
Staff/CrossFit Journal

Start light and work up to heavy weight. Jumping right into the big numbers can have disastrous results.

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 Warming Up ... (continued)

running the numbers up, but that’s a bit much. While it’s
true that if you can’t clean, snatch or jerk a light weight
correctly, you’re not going to be able to do any of those
lifts correctly with heavier poundages unless you start
moving up the ladder when you still have enough gas in
the tank to handle some bigger weights.
Naturally, some lifters can jump from a very light weight
to a very heavy one. Dave Sheppard could go from 135
to 315 in the snatch in a single bound. When we gave
exhibitions at York, I watched Bill March press 225, jump
to 315 and finish with 350 in quick order. And I saw Bob
Bednarski do a warm-up with 225 and proceed to clean
and jerk 425 on his next set. They learned how to do this
because at an exhibition the audience didn’t want to see
a lot of warm-ups. They wanted to see the heavy stuff, and
Bednarski and March always delivered.

The tried-and-true axiom

in weight training is this:
you can start too heavy,
but you can never
start too light.

Of course, they were the exception. As a general

Staff/CrossFit Journal

rule, starting with a very light weight works best. The

tried-and-true axiom in weight training is this: you can
start too heavy, but you can never start too light.
I was working with Ken Patera at the 1970 World
A broomstick or piece of PVC can be your best friend when Championships in Columbus, Ohio, and watched to see
loosening up for a workout or competition. how the Russian powerhouse Vasiliy Alekseyev warmed
up for his attempts on platform. He always started with
How light should the first few sets be? It depends on the 135, even though it was as if he was playing with a child’s
weather and on the individual. I once trained with a man set of weights. On his quest to be the first man to clean
in his mid-40s who had a history of shoulder problems. He and jerk 500 lb. he still began with 135.
would stay with the empty Olympic bar for as many sets While you’re working your way up on the sets of an exercise,
as he deemed necessary before adding any weight to the stretch out the muscles that are involved in the movement
bar. And he was pound for pound one of the strongest in between sets. I discovered early on that if I stretched out
benchers I ever came across who never used steroids. my hamstrings right after I finished a set of front or back
On the flip side, I’ve watched aspiring Olympic lifters use squats, the next set went much easier and I was better
132 on the clean and snatch for 8 or 9 sets. They told me it able to achieve my goal for that day because my leg biceps
was to make sure they had the form down perfectly before were not allowed to tighten up. While I was waiting for my

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 Warming Up ... (continued)

next turn at the squat station, I would put my foot up on a to making steady progress. With the muscles warm and
bench and do a hurdler’s stretch for both legs. That little bit flushed with blood, stretching right after the session is
of extra stretching paid huge dividends, and I wasn’t doing the ideal time for this discipline. But in real life, this seldom
anything else during that rest period—except running my happens, primarily because most people are on a rather
mouth, and that I could do while I stretched. The simple tight schedule and have ended up training longer than
act of stretching a muscle that is being exercised vigor- they had planned to, usually because they got to talking
ously is beneficial in that it helps to remove lactic acid and with friends or hitting on the opposite sex. Regardless of
makes the muscle more prepared for the next set. the reason, they just grab their gym bags and leave right
after their last set.
The same idea applies to benching, inclining, snatching,
jerking and cleaning, or any exercises in the routine for I confess that I am also guilty of this, but I didn’t forsake my
that matter. Stretch out your triceps after a straight-arm stretching. I did it after I got home and showered or later on
pull-over and the next set will be easier. Some groups that night. The latter worked best for me. I would wait until
absolutely need to be stretched after every set. Such as I calmed down from the workout and had a few Millers to
the calves. Fail to stretch them well after a set and you will help relax, then I would start moving around: squatting,
pay the price. If not right away, somewhere down the road. twisting, turning and bending to find what groups were
tight. Once I identified them, I would stretch them out as
After the Lifting best I could. I would do the stretching while watching TV
After you finish your workout, you need to do yet more or while taking a break from my reading or artwork, and in
stretching. It helps alleviate muscle and attachment the course of a few hours, I might go through a stretching
soreness and facilitate recovery, which is one of the keys routine two or three times.
S.Dy/CrossFit

The post-workout period is the best time to stretch.

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 Warming Up ... (continued)

S.Dy/CrossFit

Take care of your body, and it will take you to new records. Neglect it and your progress
will be slowed by soreness and even injury.

If I got lazy and didn’t bother doing any stretching, I always I need to point out that even though someone stretches
had to spend a much longer time getting my body ready the various muscles in his body religiously, it doesn’t mean
for the next workout. And even then, I wasn’t nearly as he’s doing it correctly. What every strength athlete needs
sharp as I was when I took the time to stretch. Everyone to know is there are three types of stretching, and there is
has certain areas of their bodies that tighten more than the stretch reflex. The three types of stretches are: passive,
others. For me, it has always been my hamstrings and ballistic and static.
calves. If I don’t stretch them immediately after working
A stretch is passive when someone assists you with the
them, they generally cramp during the night.
stretching movement. For example, your training partner
pushes against your back while you’re sitting on the floor
to stretch your back and hamstrings. Or he pushes up
against your elbows while you’re locked onto the bar to
I need to point out that improve flexibility in your shoulders and elbows.
even though someone Ballistic stretching is a rhythmic, bouncing motion and
stretches the various muscles shouldn’t be done because it’ s potentially harmful. Static
stretching is the way to go and consists of placing some
in his body religiously, body part in a stretched position and holding it there
it doesn’t mean for a length of time. Some recommend holding a static
he’s doing it correctly. stretch for 20 seconds, but I believe longer is much more
productive: 45 seconds to a full minute. Static stretching is
done gently and never forced.

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Warming Up ... (continued)

That brings us to the stretch reflex. It’s a built-in safeguard to

keep you from doing harm to the muscles by overstretching
them. Whenever someone forces a stretch, he activates the
stretch reflex. If you experience pain during a stretch, that’s
the stretch reflex checking in and telling you to back off.
Ease off a bit and allow the stretched muscle or muscles
to relax, then continue to hold in that more comfortable
position for the desired count. Stretching should not be
painful. It should be soothing. If any of your stretches hurt,
you’re doing it wrong and need to change your approach
to the discipline.

Jody Forster
Those who have a large number of high-skill exercises in
their routines need to pay closer attention to stretching
regularly than those who only have a few, or none at all. For
instance, an Olympic lifter needs to be much more flexible About the Author
than a powerlifter, and both need to stretch more than a Bill Starr coached at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, the
bodybuilder. 1970 World Olympic Weightlifting World Championship
in Columbus, Ohio, and the 1975 World Powerlifting
Stretch for Performance Championships in Birmingham, England. He was selected
Of course, flexibility is a tremendous asset in every sport, as head coach of the 1969 team that competed in the
from wrestling to volleyball to tennis to baseball. Here’s Tournament of Americas in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, where
something else to ponder: artery walls are made up of the the United States won the team title, making him the first
same components—smooth muscle cells and connective active lifter to be head coach of an international Olympic
tissue—as the muscles in your hips, back, legs, shoulders, weightlifting team. Starr is the author of the books The
chest and arms. So when you stretch out those groups, Strongest Shall Survive: Strength Training for Football
you’re also making your arteries, veins and capillaries and Defying Gravity, which can be found at The Aasgaard
more pliant. A recent study has shown that adults who Company Bookstore.
went through a systematic stretching routine significantly
increased the flexibility of the walls of their carotid artery,
the vessel that supplies blood to the brain. In addition,
regular stretching helps soothe the nerves, and this is
always a good thing.
Yet at the same time, you must stretch correctly and not
go nuts over the discipline. Several studies have revealed
that excessive stretching can actually loosen a joint too
much, and when done improperly stretching can cause
muscle damage, both of which will have an adverse affect
on your performance level in the weight room.
Obtaining a fuller range of motion will aid you in having
a more productive workout, reduce the risk of injury
to your muscles and joints, and facilitate recovery. In a
nutshell, warming up properly will help you have a better
workout, and being more flexible allows you to do more
lifts correctly and is important in the recuperation process.
Both are free. All you have to do is supply time and energy.
I call that a good deal.

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