If You’re About to Train or Compete, Your Warm-Up Should Reflect That. 🙌

The Ready State (Kelly Starrett)
The Ready State (Kelly Starrett)Apr 4, 2026

Why It Matters

A competition‑specific, brain‑engaging warm‑up transforms routine preparation into a performance advantage, driving better results and lower injury rates.

Key Takeaways

  • Warm‑ups should mimic competition demands for optimal performance.
  • Incorporate brain‑engaging drills, like tennis‑ball exercises, into routines.
  • Use warm‑up time to experiment, iterate, and problem‑solve movement.
  • Blend cardio, jumps, lifts, and skill work for holistic preparation.
  • Treat warm‑up as a strategic advantage, not just a temperature increase.

Summary

The video emphasizes that warm‑up should be tailored to the upcoming training or competition, mirroring the intensity and specificity of the event.

It highlights brain‑centric drills—tennis‑ball catches, reaction games—and integrates cardio, jumps, lifts, and skill work, citing Olympic skaters and movement‑culture influencers like Neil Portal, Fighting Monkey, GMBB, and coach Austin Yokum.

A memorable quote: “Treat your warm‑up like you’re getting ready for a fight,” underscores the competitive edge of purposeful preparation. The speaker also notes that playful experimentation during warm‑up can improve motor learning.

For athletes and coaches, redesigning warm‑ups into strategic, cognitively demanding sessions can boost performance, reduce injury risk, and differentiate elite competitors.

Original Description

If you’re about to train or compete, your warm-up should reflect that. 🙌
The best athletes in the world aren’t lying on the ground rolling on a pool noodle and doom scrolling. .
They’re reacting, coordinating, tracking, and engaging with each other.
They’re preparing their nervous system. 🧠
Warm-up is where you bring the brain online ➡️ vision, timing, decision-making, movement variability.
For most adults, it’s also the one place in the day where you can move without a script. That matters more than people think.
📖 My challenge to you? Expand your definition of warm-up.
You’re not just trying to feel warm. You’re getting ready to perform.
What’s your warm-up look like these days?

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