By Neal Prokop, Sport Performance Specialist

I find it interesting when I see an athlete come into our training centre, or when I see someone at a local gym walk in and foam roll or stretch for a couple minutes and then go full bore into their workout with heavy loads on their lifts or high intensity on their cardio (Energy System Development).

I certainly understand that people may not have a lot of time to train and they need to get in and get out to get on with their day. There are definitely ways to get a solid warm up done in minimal time when there is a time crunch and we will address that in a future post but for today, we will focus on how to properly RAMP up your warm up.

During this time where we are at home and have a little more time on our hands, here is an option that takes a little longer to complete but it will be sure to get you ready for your training session. It is also a great way to get moving, loosen up your joints, and raise your heart rate for a while so you could actually count it as a brief exercise bout as you plan your work and activities for the day.

Enter The RAMP Warm Up Method. This is the method we use at Sport Manitoba to warm up our athletes, but it can easily be applied to any general fitness warm up. Before we start the warm up, we will typically spend a few minutes doing some trigger point release work with a foam roller or lacrosse ball to help free up some movement in any areas that seem tight or stiff at that time. Once we have completed that we can get right into our RAMP warm up protocol:

 

The “R” in RAMP stands for “Raise.”

 

During this period of the warm-up, your goal is to raise the following:

  • Body Temperature
  • Heart Rate
  • Respiration Rate
  • Blood Flow
  • Joint Viscosity – the warming up of fluid in the joints that helps improve movement capabilities of that joint.

This can be accomplished by riding a stationary bike, jogging on a treadmill or in place, skipping, or you can do this by performing the exercises in this video for 30 seconds each.

 

 

The “A” in RAMP stands for “Activate” and the “M” in RAMP stands for “Mobilize.”

These two sections are often grouped together. The goal during these two steps is to go through the ranges of motion that are specific to the activity you are about to focus on. Activate and mobilize key muscles/muscle groups, joints, and sport specific movements.

Here is an example of the activation phase you can do. Perform each exercise for 20-30 seconds.

 

 

Here is an example of the mobilization phase you can do. Perform 3-5 repetitions per exercise and per side of the body if they are unilateral (one side at a time) exercises.

 

 

The “P” in RAMP stands for “Potentiate”

The goal of this section is to prepare your body for the actual performance. This is done by gradually increasing the intensity of the exercises/drills until you can perform at maximum speed or intensity. The goal is to get the body fully prepared to move and the mind focused on your goal for your training session.

Exercises in this section are either training session specific or sport-dependent but most would include a combination of plyometric drills, speed drills, and agility drills.

Here is an example of the potentiation phase that you can do in a very tight space in your home:

The exercises in this video should be done quickly for a maximum of 15 seconds with a 15-30 second rest. Remember the focus is on higher intensity work here, not to fatigue your body too much.

 

We often say that starting your game or workout should be like stepping off a curb, not jumping off a cliff. Basically, what we mean here is that if you warm up properly by gradually and progressively increasing the intensity of your warm up, you should be able to jump into your training session very easily without a lot of warm up sets.

The RAMP method should take around 15 minutes to complete but it will ensure that you are fully prepared for your training session that day.

Give it a try. I’m sure that you will find that your workout will be very productive when you use this method.

For questions and support, always reach out to performance@sportmanitoba.ca

Good luck and stay healthy,

Your Performance Team