The Two Percent Warmup
The best warmup for any workout.
I’ve been having fun and productive conversations with Members of Two Percent over the last month. One question I get often: “What’s a good warmup I can do before every workout?”
Or there’s this recent chat I had with my friend and Two Percent reader, Chris, who is a retired Green Beret.
Chris: I need more mobility in my life.
Me: OK, what problem are you trying to solve?
Chris: My broken body.
War will do that to you.
But so will life in general, to a lesser degree.
Being sedentary leads to aches and pains and poor movement.
But here’s a fun and unfair fact: So does being active! Everything costs something.
Whether you use your body often or not, you’ll eventually face aches and pains.
But those aches and pains are far more likely to occur if you aren’t doing some basic drills that improve your ability to move.
The case for a good warmup isn’t just about avoiding pain. It’s also finding new performance. The more efficiently you move, the better you’ll perform.
Yet most people skip warmups. I get it. Warmups are no fun, and they take too long.
This is why I recommend the warmup below, which I call the Two Percent Warmup. It takes fewer than 10 minutes and I even look forward to it. It’s a calm, quiet moment every day.
Most importantly, it’s helped prevent serious pain and injury.
Instructions
Do each exercise once before every workout.
To feel and move even better, also do the warmup on rest days.
Time commitment
You can expect to be done in about 5 to 10 minutes.
Execution
Below, I’ve listed and described each of the each of the six stretches, drills, and movement.
I’ve also included video of each exercise.