There’s a reason most gym-goers start with a few minutes on the treadmill. It’s familiar. It’s easy. It ticks the “I warmed up” box. But as anyone who’s gone from a brisk walk to a heavy deadlift knows, that warm-up rarely feels like enough. The truth is, there’s a lot more going on under the surface when it comes to preparing your body for training.
A new study exploring warm-up strategies in adolescent athletes sheds some serious light on what actually helps the body perform at its best. And while the research focused on young football players, the findings are just as relevant for fitness professionals and everyday lifters. In fact, personal trainers who deliver structured, goal-specific warm-ups can improve client outcomes across strength, endurance, and even recovery.
You’ll learn this kind of science in the best personal trainer courses, but let’s break it down here and see how to make warm-ups work harder for you.
The Typical Gym Warm-Up Isn’t Cutting It
Gym routines often start on autopilot. Grab a mat, stretch your hamstrings, maybe hit the bike. There’s usually little thought about how these choices actually influence your nervous system, your hormonal environment or your technical ability under load.
A recent study took a broader approach than most. It considered more than just moving and explored the full physiological response, including hormonal shifts, fatigue indicators and technical performance under physical stress.
The research tracked 72 male soccer players under 15 years old over eight weeks, testing six different warm-up styles. These included a standard dynamic warm-up, movement-based drills, game-like drills and combinations of the two. What made the study different was its depth. It measured physical outcomes like sprint speed and power but also hormonal changes, fatigue levels and technical skill under stress. It even analysed testosterone, cortisol and lactate dehydrogenase levels to see how warm-ups affected performance readiness at the biochemical level.
In the world of PT courses, this kind of integration between physiology and performance is increasingly valuable. It’s one thing to feel ready. It’s another to actually be ready hormonally, neurologically and physically.
What Makes a Warm-Up Actually “Effective”?
A warm-up shouldn’t just be about movement. It should be about matching what you’re preparing for. If you’re training for strength, your body needs to fire on all cylinders. If you’re doing volume work, you need to manage fatigue before it starts. If you’re developing skill, whether that’s a clean and press or a Turkish get-up, you need your coordination and stability dialled in from the first rep.
The study’s six protocols offer a helpful way to think about warm-up strategies in the gym. The control group used a typical dynamic warm-up which included knee raises, leg swings, shoulder rolls and light jogging. That’s the default for most lifters, which isn’t not wrong, but it’s limited.
Another group performed analytical drills. These were movement-focused patterns designed to improve coordination and control, like lunge walks, hip circles, squat-to-sprint drills. They’re the kind of movements you see in well-structured mobility sessions. In a gym context, these could be slow tempo lunges with thoracic rotation, or dowel work to prep the spine and shoulders.
Then there was the integrated protocol. This was more intense and game-like, including small-sided games that challenged not just movement but reaction time, decision-making and full-body coordination. Translated to a gym setting, this could look like light barbell complexes, battle rope drills or kettlebell flows. It could be anything that combines strength, mobility and timing in a dynamic format.
Two other groups used combinations. One blended dynamic warm-ups with analytical drills. Another combined the high-intensity small-sided games with integrated movement tasks. These hybrid approaches aimed to maximise both neuromuscular activation and technical sharpness.
What the Study Found
Across the board, the hybrid protocols outperformed the standalone dynamic warm-up. Players who combined game-based drills with analytical movement work showed better results in sprint speed, explosive power, agility and technical skill under pressure. More importantly, their hormonal profiles improved too.
Testosterone increased, cortisol remained in check and the T/C ratio, a key indicator of anabolic vs. catabolic state, trended in the right direction. These players were more ready to perform and less likely to accumulate early fatigue.
This information is very useful in the gym as well. Every session starts with a window of opportunity. Nail your prep and you lift better, recover faster and reduce the chance of injury. Miss it, and you spend half the session chasing that feeling of readiness that never quite arrives.
Your Hormones Are Listening Too
The hormonal findings are especially interesting. Cortisol is often labelled as the “stress hormone,” but it’s more accurately a marker of how well your body is coping with demand. Too much cortisol, especially early in a session, can interfere with strength output and recovery. When testosterone rises and cortisol stays controlled, your body is in a more anabolic, that is performance-ready state. The study’s integrated and hybrid warm-ups consistently supported this balance better than the standard routine.
Other research supports these observations. In one review, dynamic warm-ups that include post-activation potentiation elements (like jumps, med ball throws or heavy slow lifts) improved strength and sprint performance significantly (Hammami et al., 2016). Another study by Rowell et al. (2018) showed that neuromuscular fatigue is directly linked to hormonal fluctuations, reinforcing the idea that what you do in the first ten minutes shapes the rest of your session.
What This Looks Like in the Gym
In the gym, this might mean replacing your treadmill warm-up with the following sequence:
Start with crawling, banded squats and shoulder dislocates to fire up coordination. Then move into low-intensity kettlebell complexes to raise your core temperature and neurological alertness. Add in a few rounds of explosive movement like box jumps or med ball slams to wake up the nervous system. Finish with brief isometric holds like planks or wall sits to stabilise the joints you’re about to load.
This kind of prep primes the central nervous system, improves joint positioning and triggers the hormonal response you need to train hard, without tipping into premature fatigue.
Suggested Warm-Ups for Different Training Goals
Warm-ups should change depending on what you’re training for. While the study grouped different warm-up styles into dynamic, analytical, integrated and hybrids, The same logic can be applied in the gym. Here are a few sample warm-ups, inspired by the protocols used in the research:
For Strength Training (Heavy Lifts Day)
Goal: Prime the nervous system, increase joint stability, and shift hormonal balance toward readiness without creating early fatigue.
Warm-Up (10–12 mins):
- Banded glute bridges (2×15)
- Dynamic hamstring swings + hip openers (10 per leg)
- Controlled bodyweight squats with pause (2×10)
- Med ball chest passes or slams (3×5)
- Isometric wall sit or lunge hold (30 secs each side)
- Light barbell complex (deadlift → RDL → row → front squat x 3 rounds)
This mimics the Integrated + Analytical warm-up style from the study: strength-focused, skill-specific and hormone-friendly.
For High-Intensity Conditioning or HIIT
Goal: Boost oxygen delivery, loosen joints and activate coordination for fast-paced work.
Warm-Up (8–10 mins):
- Fast skipping or lateral bounds (30 secs)
- World’s greatest stretch or Spiderman walk (6–8 reps per side)
- Carioca/shuffles (2×15m)
- Jump squats or pogo hops (2×10)
- Short sprints or assault bike bursts (2 rounds: 20 secs easy / 10 secs hard)
- Shadow boxing or light kettlebell flow (60 secs)
This mirrors the Small-Sided Games Warm-Up (SSGW): aerobic lead-in + agility + skill work = metabolic prep.
For Functional Training or Cross-Training
Goal: Improve movement quality, challenge control and switch on joint stability in multiple planes.
Warm-Up (12–15 mins):
- Crawling patterns (bear, crab, lateral) (2 rounds of 30 secs)
- Lateral lunges with reach + thoracic rotation (10 reps per side)
- Shoulder dislocates or banded pull-aparts (2×15)
- Box step-ups with high knee (2×8 per side)
- Single-leg balance to lunge (30 secs per side)
- Kettlebell halo → goblet squat → press flow (2×5 each move)
This draws from the Analytical Warm-Up (AWP), with isolated, controlled, coordination-focused movement prep.
For Skill-Focused or Technical Workouts (e.g. Olympic lifting, mobility)
Goal: Enhance coordination, joint positioning and precision while staying mentally sharp.
Warm-Up (8–10 mins):
- Controlled dowel PVC work (snatch grip pass-throughs, overhead squats)
- Deep lunge with isometric hold + elbow drop (2×20 secs per side)
- Standing long jump into stick landing (3 reps)
- Split squat with tempo (3 reps each side, 3–0–1)
- Light barbell drill: clean pulls or snatch high pulls (2×5)
This is a gym-friendly version of the Integrated Warm-Up (IWU), designed to build high-skill neuromuscular readiness.
For Recovery or Deload Sessions
Goal: Maintain movement quality, gently elevate body temperature and promote active recovery without additional stress.
Warm-Up (8–10 mins):
- Foam rolling or ball release (quads, glutes, back)
- Dynamic thoracic rotations + cat/cow (1–2 mins)
- Air squats to reach (2×10)
- Hip circles + ankle mobility drills
- Diaphragmatic breathing or crocodile breathing (2–3 mins)
This is more of a low-intensity dynamic + analytical blend, perfect for down days when cortisol needs to stay low and recovery is the goal.
Each of these warm-up strategies builds on the logic of the study, supporting physical readiness, hormonal balance, fatigue management and task-specific skill. Planning your warm-up with purpose can be one of the most impactful parts of your entire session.
Don’t Waste the First Ten Minutes
There is a need for a mindset shift here. The warm-up isn’t a chore. It’s a strategy. It’s a chance to rehearse movement patterns, reinforce technical cues and get your brain on the same page as your body. That’s valuable for athletes and it’s just as valuable for everyday lifters, weekend warriors and anyone else trying to get more from their training.
The study wrapped up by emphasising that the right warm-up can amplify performance while also reducing injury risk and long-term fatigue. That’s a message coaches and personal trainers need to hear more often. Your warm-up isn’t just a habit. It’s a tool. And like any good tool, it works best when you know how to use it.
If you’re running a session, leading a class or training solo, think beyond the treadmill. Think integrated. Think specific. Think of your warm-up as the opening scene that sets the tone for the entire workout.
Because if you get that right, everything else tends to fall into place.
Reference
- Zarei, H., Dehkordi, K.J., Taghian, F., & Clemente, F.M. (2025). Comparison of the effects of different warm-up protocols on anabolic-catabolic balance, fatigue, physical readiness, and technical skill measures: Study protocol for a randomized parallel study in young male soccer players. Click here to review the full research article.
- Hammami, A., Zois, J., Slimani, M., Russell, M., & Bouhlel, E. (2016). The efficacy and characteristics of warm-up and re-warm-up practices in soccer players: A systematic review. The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 58(1-2), 135–149. Click here to review the full research article.
- Rowell, A.E., Aughey, R.J., Hopkins, W.G., Esmaeili, A., Lazarus, B.H., & Cormack, S.J. (2018). Effects of training and competition load on neuromuscular recovery, testosterone, cortisol, and match performance during a season of professional football. Frontiers in Physiology, 9, 668. Click here to review the full research article.
More Than a Qualification. A Complete Coaching Skillset
The TRAINFITNESS Gym Instructor & Personal Trainer Master Diplomas™ are designed for those ready to build a career in fitness with a clear area of specialisation from day one. Each Diploma combines the core Gym Instructor and Personal Trainer qualifications with an in-depth focus on a specialist field such as strength & conditioning, women’s health, or nutrition & exercise. It’s a complete package for those who want to do more than just qualify, they want to coach with purpose. In a recent study, warm-ups using targeted protocols improved performance by over 4% and supported better hormonal balance, which is proof that understanding the science behind training can make a measurable difference. With the Master Diplomas, you’ll gain the skills and knowledge to apply this kind of research to real client outcomes. If you’re serious about becoming a personal trainer with a strong professional identity from the start, these Diplomas are for you.
