The best warm up routine you’ll ever do… Introducing the VH Core 4 Complex

Warm up routines are THE most underrated routine in the training world.  Most people before they exercise usually swing their arms or legs a little, do a ‘runner’s stretch’ or simply walk to wherever they’re exercising.

Unfortunately this is not enough to get the body prepared for exercise, particularly lifting weight or running.

At Vitruvian Health, we believe warm up routines are the most important part of a person’s training program.  So important that we’ve created our own warm up routine called ‘The Core 4 Complex’.

We recommend the Core 4 Complex to be done at the very beginning of a person’s session.  It can be done whether you are lifting weights, running, swimming, gymnastics etc.

What does the Core 4 Complex do and when is it used?

The Complex focuses on opening up the hips, glutes, thoracic, shoulders and neck. The aim here is to create as much length as possible and to use the breath to guide the movement.  It is a great exercise for building body awareness, particularly if you have not done yoga or flow movement patterns before.

As most of us are generally feeling tight and stiff from sitting down for long periods before exercising, the Core 4 Complex gives the body the chance to ‘soften up’ in preparation for your exercise of choice that day.  As the Complex focuses on creating space and lengthening in the body, it can assist with bringing your awareness to any areas that are unusually tight in the body, which will allow you to then pay more attention to them in the exercises that follow.

When the Complex is used at the start of a training session lifting weights, we recommend that activation exercises are completed following the Complex.

The great thing about the Complex is that it can be completed not just before exercise, but also as part of any morning or evening routine to help the body open and promote relaxation.

Here’s how to do the Core 4 Complex:

1. Hip switch

• Start with the feet parallel with the hips, knees bend up
• Engage your forearms, biceps and shoulders as your arms are pressing to the floor at the back
• Open up the chest
• Move your knees from one side to another to stretch out the hips and open the whole body up

2. Side to side rotations

• Sit with one leg crossed in front and the other one crossed at the back
• Rotate your upper body from side to side
• If you start feeling stiff at any point, pause and take a deep breath to the chest, ribs and back and feel it opening up
• Feel the hips, mid section, upper body and neck engaged as this exercise corporates the whole body
• Repeat the rotation 4x each side

3. Forward fold

• Sit with one leg crossed in front and the other one crossed at the back
• Front foot should be in dorsiflexion
• Curl down over your leg letting your head fall forward and then slowly roll up
• To modify, lengthen up the back leg to get more out of this exercise

4. Arm circles

• Sit with one leg crossed in front, push your knee down, the other leg crossed at the back
• Place your forearm as far behind you as you can without back pain
• With the other hand make a big circle all the way round; by pressing to the elbow you create the length in the body;
• Repeat 4x each side

Let us know your feedback on the Core 4 Complex!