Stretches before and after lifting...help

Unknown

need some help please. I been told my muscles are quite weak. I'm new to lifting. Need some work on my hip flexors too. Also my lower back is weak too. Just curious if anyone knows stretches I could do before and after lifting. I alternate between upper and body and lower when lifting.

Also are there any other stretches or classes etc I could to help? Thanks

Unknown

Is conditioning best to fit into your weekly workout and if so how many times a week?

Unknown

I do a dynamic stretching warm up, alternating overhead reaches, high knees, squats with no weight and lunges with no weight before every workout. Really simple, and it gets me ready for whatever comes next.

I have tight hip flexors too, and the biggest help for them hands down has been yoga. There are so many poses focusing on opening the hips and hamstrings, plus strengthening the glutes and quads that it's a big help. The hip flexor work has eliminated a lot of knee pain that I had as well.

Unknown

4leighbee wrote: »

JoRocka wrote: »

I jump rope for 5 minutes. do a bar warm up- then I do weighted warm up- then I do hip opening exercises- then more warm up weight- then get into heavier warm up weight- I usually do 4-5 weighted sets before I get to my working weight.

I NEED to be warm before I stretch- and I need to do some stretching before I work.

Not sure what issues you're running into exactly, but warmup for warmup sake is very unnecessary. You just have to listen to your body and do the bare minimum for preparation, whatever your body requires to be ready for lifting that day.

Continue to strength train, that will be the best way to solve any weaknesses you have.

cosign strongly to this.

Are you running through all the big compound lifts with your bar weight, warm-up weight ... or just squats or ... what does that look like? How long does it take you? I usually just run a little and bam: Compound Lift #1 x 3, Compound Lift #2 x 3 ... etc. I might be in the gym forever ...

Squats are the most important for me to warm up- seems like I need it WAY more than any other lift. Bench is getting there- I have a solid arch- and I have to really warm up into it to get it where I like for bigger numbers.

Deadlift I am pretty comfortable so I tend to do "a little" less- I won't do the full hip opening stretch routine- but I probably should.

I posted a video of it. let me see if I an find it. I think my warm up takes me about 15 minutes total- 5 for the rope- and then like 7-10 for the warm up with the bar.

https://youtu.be/5lH_MJpL4dY

for what it's worth I'm already there for "forever" (well- 1.5-2 hours isn't that much- I am happier at 3- but I realize I'm not everyone) but I cannot squat without doing this. I cannot do it. When I get under the bar for my first set- it looks like I've barely squatted in my life before- stiff tight and all over the place. I HAVE to take the time to warm it up. my hips are just as valuable to me as my time outside the gym.

Unknown

LovelyIvy466 wrote: »

I do a dynamic stretching warm up, alternating overhead reaches, high knees, squats with no weight and lunges with no weight before every workout. Really simple, and it gets me ready for whatever comes next.

I have tight hip flexors too, and the biggest help for them hands down has been yoga. There are so many poses focusing on opening the hips and hamstrings, plus strengthening the glutes and quads that it's a big help. The hip flexor work has eliminated a lot of knee pain that I had as well.

Are there any videos you have found useful in the yoga?

Unknown

JoRocka wrote: »

4leighbee wrote: »

JoRocka wrote: »

I jump rope for 5 minutes. do a bar warm up- then I do weighted warm up- then I do hip opening exercises- then more warm up weight- then get into heavier warm up weight- I usually do 4-5 weighted sets before I get to my working weight.

I NEED to be warm before I stretch- and I need to do some stretching before I work.

Not sure what issues you're running into exactly, but warmup for warmup sake is very unnecessary. You just have to listen to your body and do the bare minimum for preparation, whatever your body requires to be ready for lifting that day.

Continue to strength train, that will be the best way to solve any weaknesses you have.

cosign strongly to this.

Are you running through all the big compound lifts with your bar weight, warm-up weight ... or just squats or ... what does that look like? How long does it take you? I usually just run a little and bam: Compound Lift #1 x 3, Compound Lift #2 x 3 ... etc. I might be in the gym forever ...

Squats are the most important for me to warm up- seems like I need it WAY more than any other lift. Bench is getting there- I have a solid arch- and I have to really warm up into it to get it where I like for bigger numbers.

Deadlift I am pretty comfortable so I tend to do "a little" less- I won't do the full hip opening stretch routine- but I probably should.

I posted a video of it. let me see if I an find it. I think my warm up takes me about 15 minutes total- 5 for the rope- and then like 7-10 for the warm up with the bar.

https://youtu.be/5lH_MJpL4dY

for what it's worth I'm already there for "forever" (well- 1.5-2 hours isn't that much- I am happier at 3- but I realize I'm not everyone) but I cannot squat without doing this. I cannot do it. When I get under the bar for my first set- it looks like I've barely squatted in my life before- stiff tight and all over the place. I HAVE to take the time to warm it up. my hips are just as valuable to me as my time outside the gym.

I don't see the video. What's your username on tube I'm guessing? Thanks

Unknown

RECowgill wrote: »

https://youtube.com/watch?v=BH11j4kSQ8E

Alan Thrall's warmup routine. It's a long video but worth watching.

Couple of notes- you shouldn't be doing this much warmup/cooldown with every workout. Be selective about it, maybe only do some foam rolling one day and maybe only do leg related stretches another day. I believe he mentions something like that in the video, but its worth repeating. The video is like a total ideas list of possible things to do, not what you should do every time.

Not sure what issues you're running into exactly, but warmup for warmup sake is very unnecessary. You just have to listen to your body and do the bare minimum for preparation, whatever your body requires to be ready for lifting that day.

Continue to strength train, that will be the best way to solve any weaknesses you have.

Thanks. I'll check it out.

Unknown

lulum1986 wrote: »

LovelyIvy466 wrote: »

I do a dynamic stretching warm up, alternating overhead reaches, high knees, squats with no weight and lunges with no weight before every workout. Really simple, and it gets me ready for whatever comes next.

I have tight hip flexors too, and the biggest help for them hands down has been yoga. There are so many poses focusing on opening the hips and hamstrings, plus strengthening the glutes and quads that it's a big help. The hip flexor work has eliminated a lot of knee pain that I had as well.

Are there any videos you have found useful in the yoga?

There are a lot! On youtube, if you look up yoga hip openers you'll find a ton. I like Ekhart yoga ang yoga with adrienne. There's also a site called yogadownload.com that is great- you can search their videos by focus area. They charge, but they also have a lot of videos available for free. I actually pay the fee- it's $8 a month and the teachers are good, plus you get to download 4 workouts per month at that level for when you don't have internet.

Unknown

I have scleroderma, which means very tight joints and tendons with my particular disease progression. I don't do warmup stretches -- I do somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes of cardio (stationary bike) and go straight to lifting. If I'm having trouble with muscle or joint tightness I may select a moderately light dumbbell and do a few warm-up reps before moving to the heavy bar.

I haven't encountered a need for foam rolling yet, but I can see where it'd be really useful and also feel pretty darned good. I overextended my elbow when I was doing rows a couple of weeks ago and had a truly regrettable knot for a few days. Foam rolling would have helped immensely (she said, with perfect hindsight). If you're struggling with post-workout pain you should definitely look into a foam roll and work on your form.