Whether it’s low-intensity cardio, stretching or mediation, it’s important to prep your body for exercise. This is especially true if that exercise is high-impact in nature. A warm-up can also help boost your performance and help prime your lungs, brain and muscles for what’s to come.
Try these 5 moves to help prime your entire body for exercise.
Glute bridge (2 sets of 12 – 15 reps)
- Lie on your back with feet flat against the floor and knees bent
- Engage your glutes before lifting your hips off of the floor until your body forms a straight line from knees to shoulders
- Pause briefly at the top of the movement before slowly lowering your glutes back down to the starting position for one rep
![](/media/3522/womanglutebridge.gif?quality=100)
Kettlebell halos (2 sets of 10 reps in each direction)
- Start in a standing position, holding a kettlebell with both hands
- Raise the kettlebell above the left side of your head beside your left ear
- Slowly move the kettlebell behind your head, then over your right ear
- Be sure to keep your head straight and core engaged while you do these movements
- Bring the kettlebell back to your chest for one rep
- Reverse the movement by going in the opposite direction
![](/media/3508/woman-halo.gif?quality=100)
Goblet squats (2 sets of 10-12 reps)
- Choose a lightweight kettlebell to activate the muscles in the legs and hold it in the centre of your chest
- Stand with your toes pointed slightly outwards and your feet shoulder-width apart
- Hinge at the hips and bend your knees to lower your body as close to the ground as possible
- Be sure to keep your arms close to your chest and elbows pointed down
- Pause at the bottom of your squat and drive through your glutes, legs and heels to raise your body back to the starting position for one rep
![](/media/3512/goblet_squat.gif?quality=100)
Reverse lunge to overhead press (2 sets of 10-12 on each leg)
- Hold a kettlebell in both hands while standing upright
- Step your left leg behind you, lowering yourself into a reverse lunge
- Return to standing and lift the kettlebell over your head, maintaining a slight bend at the elbow
- Don't let your arm swing outward as you hold this position for a few seconds
- Lower your left arm back down to the starting position for one rep
- Repeat on the opposite side
![](/media/3509/kettle_lunge.gif?quality=100)
Hardstyle kettlebell swings (2 sets of 10-12 reps)
When doing a hardstyle deadlift style of swing, it’s important to start with a good ground connection, which is essential for stability and power production. To help ground the body while performing kettlebell swings, a flat sole shoe is recommended.
Traditional hardstyle breathing requires one breathing cycle per swing, where you inhale through the nose or mouth during the backswing, followed by a tight exhale (don’t let all your air out at once) during the upward motion of the swing.
Steps to perform a proper hardstyle 2-arm kettlebell swing:
- Set up in an athletic stance with two hands on the kettlebell positioned directly in front of your feet
- Maintain a good grip on the handle during the swing so the kettlebell does not flop at the top or during the end of the backswing
- Tip the handle of the kettlebell back towards you and lock your lats into place (think shoulder blades into back pockets), creating back tension
- When you feel your hamstrings stretch; squeeze your glutes and drive your feet into the ground to move the kettlebell upward through the legs
- Propel the kettlebell upward (not forward) through your legs by hinging your hips
- To prevent lower back injury, the hips are underneath your body and knees are locked
- A slight elbow bend is allowed during the swing; however, do not actively bend your elbows and pull the kettlebell inward to help move the weight upward to the top of the swing
- Stand tall at the top of the movement, with arms extended and the kettlebell parallel to the floor
- Wait for the kettlebell to almost hit your midsection before you hinge back to the starting position for one rep. Hinging too early will result in a lack of strength and may cause a sore lower back or an injury over time
![](/media/3511/man-kettle-bell-swing.gif?quality=100)