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Rehearse It Warming Up Your Strength Class
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Rehearse It Warming Up Your Strength Class
by Sara Lewis
Instructors know that the warm up serves as a rehearsal for the main body of class. The choreography begins with lower intensity moves and gradually progresses. Consider what moves you use in your warm up for a strength format class. Do they mimic the exercises you'll be teaching?
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While grapevines and step-touches are great choices to include in your warm up, they resemble choreography for a cardio-based class more than a strength class. So, what can you do in a strength-based warm up? Think multi-joint. Unloaded squats are an excellent exercise to warm up the entire lower body.
And, they can easily be progressed to lunges. For the upper body, push ups against a wall, lightly loaded shoulder presses, and one-arm rows work well. Always keep in mind the various fitness levels of your participants.
For more ideas, try a BodyPump class. Right away, the barbell is used to prepare the students for what's to come. Talk to a personal trainer at your club. Or, ask if you can observe the first few minutes of their client's workout. They will probably be flattered that a group exercise instructor is taking an interest in personal training!
When you do a strength based warm up, you might get more people to participate. Those participants who are rhythmically-challenged will feel more successful. Men, typically, will be more interested in a less choreographed class. So try it. See what happens.
About Sara Lewis:
Sara Lewis is the owner of Mix Fitness, a BOSU Master Trainer, and a member of Sunshine Fitness Resources. Lewis holds a BS in Exercise & Health Promotion and can be contacted through her website: www.mixfitness.net.
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