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By Isaac Leung, Athletic Skills

Hey reader,

Rethinking Warm-Ups: Are You Wasting Valuable Coaching Time?

Warm-ups: every session starts with them, but are they actually preparing your athletes for the demands of their sport?

Too often, warm-ups are treated as a tick-box exercise—a few laps, some static stretches, and a couple of drills before getting to the “real” session. But the truth is, if your warm-ups aren’t actively improving movement, decision-making, and engagement, you’re missing a massive coaching opportunity.

Bam’s insights from our latest Q&A challenge the traditional approach and highlight how warm-ups can become a powerful tool for athletic development.

Let’s break it down.

Where Coaches Go Wrong with Warm-Ups

🚫 Mindless Jogging & Static Stretching – Doesn’t replicate game intensity or engage players.

🚫 Lack of Purpose – Warm-ups should develop movement skills, decision-making, and match-specific fitnessinstead of just filling time.

🚫 No Engagement = No Buy-In – If players aren’t switched on from the start, their focus and intensity in the session will suffer.

The 3-Part Framework for Smarter Warm-Ups

Bam’s approach focuses on three key areas:

1️⃣ Raise Heart Rate with Purpose

Instead of slow jogging, start with high-energy, reactive activities that demand game-specific movement.

💡 Example: Tag-based games, reaction sprint drills, or competitive relays. These naturally elevate heart rate while improving acceleration and change of direction.

2️⃣ Build Movement Quality into Warm-Ups

Warm-ups aren’t just about getting loose—they’re a chance to refine movement patterns that translate directly to performance.

💡 Example: Controlled deceleration drills, lateral movements, and explosive jumps to develop mechanics that prevent injury and improve agility.

💡 Bonus Tip: Use warm-ups as an informal screening tool. Instead of relying on rigid tests, observe how players move under dynamic conditions. Do they lack control when landing? Do they struggle with lateral movement? Use this time to identify areas for improvement.

3️⃣ Gamify the Process to Increase Buy-In

If players aren’t engaged, they aren’t learning. Gamification makes movement training more intense, competitive, and enjoyable.

💡 Example: Instead of standard sprint drills, create a reaction-based chase game. Players react to unpredictable cues,replicating real match demands while working on speed and agility.

🔥 Fact: Athletes train harder without even realising it when drills are designed as challenges rather than routines.

Making It Sport-Specific

🔹 Position-Specific Movements: A centre-back in football won’t warm up the same way as a winger. A rugby prop has different movement needs than a scrum-half. Design warm-ups that reflect the demands of different positions.

🔹 Skill-Specific Integration: Instead of separating technical drills and fitness work, blend them. Example: In a basketball warm-up, players execute passes immediately after an agility drill to train skill under fatigue.

🔹 Progressive Overload in Warm-Ups: Just like strength training, movement patterns can be progressively loaded.Over time, increase intensity, add resistance, or introduce reactive elements.

Final Thought: Are You Coaching or Just Warming Up?

Coaches often say they “don’t have time” to work on movement skills. But warm-ups are the perfect place to develop athleticism without taking time away from technical work.

If your players aren’t moving well, if they’re disengaged, or if their decision-making under fatigue is poor… look at your warm-ups.

🚀 Want to learn more from an expert in this area?

We’ve recorded a 45-minute Q&A session with movement specialist Bam, breaking down everything from warm-up design to real-world coaching applications.

If you want access to this session—plus a 30-day pass to our coaching COMMUNITY, where you’ll find expert discussions, resources, and practical content to take your coaching to the next level—reply with ‘YES’ to get access.

Need more help? Reply to this email and let’s chat!

Speak soon,

Isaac 🙂 

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