Ello ello,
Let’s be honest, you don’t warm up, do you?
You walk into the gym, throw your hoodie off like you’re entering the UFC, and within 30 seconds you’re under a loaded barbell.
No heart rate raiser.
No mobility.
No stretch.
Just pure “alpha” energy and stiff hips.
Then you wonder why your shoulder’s clicking, your lower back feels like glass, and your hamstrings pull when you sneeze 🙃
You’re not 18 anymore 🧓
When you were younger, you could walk straight into a heavy session cold because your joints weren’t made of dust.
But now?
You’ve spent 8 hours hunched at a desk, 2 hours scrolling TikTok, and your last real sprint was chasing a Deliveroo driver down the street.
You are not warm.
And with winter creeping in, your tendons and ligaments are tighter than ever. That first set on the bench press shouldn’t feel like Russian roulette.
What “warming up” doesn’t mean 🚫
It doesn’t mean 30 minutes of yoga.
It doesn’t mean foam rolling every muscle you’ve ever heard of.
And it definitely doesn’t mean spending half your session doing mobility drills that make you look like you’re auditioning for Cirque du Soleil.
A proper warm-up takes 5–10 minutes, max.
It should:
✅ Get your heart rate up (jump rope, treadmill, cycle, whatever).
✅ Move the joints you’re about to use through a full range of motion.
✅ Include one or two lighter sets of your first exercise, not 10 of them.
That’s it. Simple.
You’re not losing gains. You’re saving yourself from losing weeks. ⏳
Skipping your warm-up doesn’t make you hardcore. It makes you stupid.
You won’t feel the consequences today. They add up over time like a meter, you damage your ligaments & tendons each session, and eventually one rep will take you over the edge.
An injury doesn’t just hurt; it sets you back months.
You’ll lose muscle, strength, and motivation faster than you can say, “I’ll be back next Monday.”
TL;DR 🫡
Warming up isn’t optional.
It’s not a chore.
It’s not a “nice to have.”
It’s five minutes that keep you training all winter instead of spending Christmas learning how to use a massage gun properly.
Because trust me, when you hit your 50s and 60s, being able to tie your shoes without pulling something will feel like a PR.
Train smart now, and you’ll still be moving freely when your mates are moaning about their joints on the golf course.
Cheers,
Sheep 🐏
P.S. If your current “warm-up” is walking from your car to the squat rack, I can fix that. My coaching doesn’t just give you a plan, it builds the habits that stop you getting injured and start you progressing.