Yoga + Stretching Workouts

5-Minute Warm Up for At Home Workouts

An essential, but often skipped, part of your workout: THE WARM UP! In this 5-minute warm up video, I’ll instruct you through 14 basic dynamic stretches to prepare you for an at-home workout while also reducing the risk of injury. Follow along with this 5-minute warm up video before your next home workout!

*You can also view this 5-Minute Warm Up for At Home Workouts on Youtube here. While you’re there, SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube Channel to get all our newest workouts.

Let me just start off by saying this: I get it. When you barely have time to squeeze in a 15-minute workout, it’s tempting to skip the warm up and cool down portions of your workout. 

But jumping right into an intense workout without properly preparing your body can make for a less effective workout; and more importantly, lead to injury.

That said, I know a lot of you have been using this HIIT Cardio Workout as a warm up to your at home workouts. So it’s about time I delivered a true 5-minute at home warm up video.

Whether you’re doing a cardio workout or strength training, a proper, 5-minute warm up is an essential part of your workout!

Why are warm up exercises important?

An effective warm up gets your heart rate up and gets blood flowing to the muscles you’ll be engaging during your workout.

Warming up before your workout can make your workout more effective and reduce injury risk.

The best warm ups include both dynamic movements {think jumping jacks and high knees}, as well as, exercise-specific movements. Look at the workout you’re going to be doing, and be sure to incorporate several of those movements into your warm up. For example, if you have a heavy squat day, be sure to incorporate bodyweight squats and to your warm up. Or if you’re going to be doing lots of push ups, start with planks and progress to push ups in your warm up.

This combination has shown to increase performance during a workout, meaning taking a few minutes to warm up in the beginning of your workout can actually help you have a more effective workout {University of São Paulo}.

There are few things more frustrating than being in the mental space of wanting to go out knock a workout out of the park, only to find yourself sidelined by an injury. Research shows that implementing a warm up routine before physical activity deters injuries {University of Alabama}.

What is dynamic stretching?

One of the misconceptions people have about warm up routines is that they only consist of static stretches {or stretches that you hold}.

When you watch the video in this post, you’ll notice that this warm up is a form of active movement. Also known as dynamic stretching. We’ll move our bodies through a range of motion to prepare our joints and muscles for movement. Dynamic stretching simply means stretches that include movement or energy. The dynamic movements get blood flowing to all our limbs and start to move our heart rates up to the level they’ll be at for the remainder of the workout.

Static stretching {or stretches you hold}, on the other hand, are great for increasing mobility and flexibility. I like to perform the majority of my static stretches at the end of my workout; once my body is already warmed up so I can really lean into each stretch without being worried about pushing a muscle too far.

Another way to think of it is like this: dynamic stretching for warming up, static stretching for cooling down.

For more on static stretching, check out these 8 Mobility Exercises.

But today, we’re focusing on dynamic stretching and this 5-minute warm up for at home workouts.

The Workout: Warm Up Exercises for At Home Workouts

You only need your bodyweight for these 14 warm up exercises! Follow along as I walk you through a five minute, full body, dynamic warm up to get you ready for an at home workout.

Your warm up may vary based on the type of workout you’re going to do {strength training, HIIT cardio, barre, lower body, upper body}, or recovering injuries you may have. That said, this warm up is pretty versatile and will prepare you for most workouts.

We’ll start with some dynamic stretches to prepare the body for full range movements. We’ll also add in some heart-rising cardio movements to get your blood pumping.

Use the workout video at the top of this post to follow along with this 5-minute warm up in real time. I’ll coach you through 14 dynamic stretches and offer modifications and advanced options as we go. Alternatively, you can screenshot the exercise list below to guide you.

1. Mountain Pose + Baby Back Bend
2. Forward Fold + Crouch + Curl
3. Hands Overhead Squats + Low Pulse Squats
4. Plank Launcher
5. Runners Lunge + Twist + Shoulder Sweeps
6. 2 Pulse Plank Jump Switch
7. Hip Hinge Swings
8. Lateral Lunges
9. Skaters
10. Jumping Jacks
11. Alternating Punches
12. 2 Jumping Jacks + 2 Punches
13. High Knees
14. Butt Kicks

See the full, 5-minute warm up video above for a demonstration of each warm up exercise.

Gorilla Mats for At-Home Gym

If at home workouts are your jam and you’re building an at-home gym, I highly suggest investing in one of these large Gorilla Mats. Not only do they give you plenty of space to move on, but it helps protect your joints, and wood floors too.

Get 10% OFF any Gorilla Mats order using code: NourishMoveLove 

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*This post does include affiliate links to Gorilla Mats, and I do receive a small commission for products purchased using these links. All words and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting Nourish Move Love, making the content you see on this blog possible.