Activation exercises and drills are so important when it comes to having an effective workout. They should be done before you begin your actual workout to help prevent injury.
They are much more than a quick stretch before your workout. Activation exercises will work deeper into the muscles you’re trying to target. They are designed to prepare your muscles and nervous system for the exercise you’re about to perform. Also, by doing these activation exercises you’ll increase your range of motion within this muscle group. The idea of activation exercises is to ‘switch on’ the key muscles. This not only helps prevent injury but to also improves your performance.
Mind Muscle Connection
What is mind muscle connection? This is where you try to connect your mind to the muscle you plan on working. For example, if you were doing hip thrusts, you would focus your mind on your glutes. Try to feel them working, moving, contracting and releasing. During the exercise you’d try to only focus your mind on your glutes. This is the same with any other exercise.
Your muscles are activated by electrical signals sent from the brain when they’re activated by exercise. These signals cause the fibres in your muscles to contract. These fibres are either on or off (like a light switch), there is no middle ground.
These exercises not only help to warm up the specific muscle groups. They will also help you make a stronger mind muscle connection. If you struggle to make that mind muscle connection, there are a few things you can do to help.
Have a gym buddy place their hand or a finger on the muscle you’re trying to focus on to really zone in on that muscle. For example, if you’re trying to work your triceps, ask some one to put slight pressure on this muscle to help you focus in on the area and visualise the muscle working.
A great way to practice this connection is with a simple bicep curl with no weight. Slowly bring your forearm up towards your bicep and as you do so, watch your bicep contract. Think about how it feels as it contracts. That’s all you have to do with any muscle group.
Activation Exercises
Activation exercises aren’t (or shouldn’t) make you sweat or use up your precious energy stores. It should be more like a warm up where you can feel the muscle contracting and stretching. If you can feel them contracting then they are activating as they should be which means you are doing it correctly.
The more you do these exercises, the easier it will become to feel them contracting and activating, so keep at it, even if you struggle to begin with.
Activation Exercises For Glutes
The main activation exercises are for the glutes as they are such a large muscle. They are also known to be the muscle that needs the biggest help to get going. With so many people sitting down for work most of the day, the glutes can become lazy. They are the teenager of the muscle world when it comes to getting moving in the mornings.
Banded Squats
Exactly the same as a normal squat, with an exercise band around your thighs. You could even do this without a band if you wanted to as it would still warm up your quads and glutes.
Side Leg Raises
A very straight forward exercise to do, simply lie on one side with the leg on the floor bent at a right angle. The leg on top then moves slowly straight up as far as you can go, and back down again. Repeat this on both legs 20 times. If you struggle to feel it in your glutes, go slower and really try to focus in on your glutes.
Banded Side Shuffle
The banded side shuffle, could also be known as the crab due to the side to side movement. For this you will need a long band. Simply step in to the loop at the bottom (standing on the band), with your feet hip width apart. Twist the band in the middle so it forms a cross and hold the band in a mirror position to your feet. Then all you do is walk sideways 10 steps, then do the same back the other way. Repeat this 2 or 3 times and you should feel your glutes on fire.
Upper Body Activation Exercises
Not wanting to forget about our upper body, here are a few of the best activation exercises for the upper body.
Arm Rotations
Stand up straight with your arms out like a T and your hands clenched into fists. Keeping your arms out like a ‘T’ start to make small circles in a forwards motion for 2o seconds. Then stop and do the same in a backwards motion for another 20 seconds.
Dead Hangs
These are a great way to activate your lats, and stretch them out, ready for exercise. For these all you need to do is hang, as though you’re a dead weight from a bar with your feet off the ground. Simply hang on for as long as you can, and repeat up to 3 times.
Scapular Pull Ups
Similar to the dead hangs, but this time your aim is to engage your lats. Hanging from a bar, starting in the dead weight position, simply retract your scapular. To retract your scapular, as you’re hanging, pretend you’re trying to snap the bar in half at both ends, so the middle of the bar would ping up. Pull your shoulders back and down – as though you are trying to hold a pencil in-between your shoulder blades.
What are your go to activation exercises before you do a workout?
FAQ’s
What Are Activation Exercises?
Activation exercises are generally exercises that target specific muscles to wake them up, ready for the workout you’re about to do. These activation exercises are done to increase the blood flow to the muscles, literally warming them up.
Why Are Activation Exercises Important?
Activation exercises warm up the muscles by increasing blood flow. The warmer your muscles, the more supple they will be, meaning you’re less likely to cause yourself an injury.
Are Activation Exercises Necessary?
Yes absolutely! If for no other reason than to war up the muscles to help prevent injury.
What Is Muscle Activation?
Muscle activation – exercises that wakes up the muscles, ready for exercise.
How Do I Activate My Upper Body?
There are so many ways to activate your upper body. From dead hangs, arm rotations, banded work…etc. See the list and video above for a better idea of how to activate your upper body.
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