Optimising Performance - The RAMP Warm-up
Prime the body to perform
Before diving into the how to warm up and what it will achieve, the first thing to do is look at why we warm up? To put it simply the main rationale for the warm up is to ‘Prepare the individual both physically and mentally for exercise, training or competition.’ While in the short term for a session immediately to follow this is achieved through:
Increasing muscle temperature
Increasing reaction times and increasing the rate of force development in the muscles
Increasing muscle strength and power
Lowered the viscous resistance in the muscles
Increased oxygen delivery to the muscles through the release from haemoglobin and myoglobin facilitated by the higher temperature
Increased blood flow to the muscles
Improved metabolic reactions
With a wider view though and looking longer term a structured, well planned and thought through warm up can be used to address movement limitations and to build in prehab/rehabilitation work to assist in securing the longevity of health and performance.
The warm up though should be thought of as more than just some light work and a time killer during a session, instead it should be thought of a key element of performance preparation where the exercises are carefully selected to improve performance both in the immediate session and long term performance.
The RAMP Protocol
The RAMP system is one that allows performance to be improved in the short term as well as for the long term. The structure it follows will gradually build, each element helping to prepare you for the next. The complexity and intensity of the warm up elements and exercises will build and increase as the individual progresses through the system. So what are the elements of the RAMP system:
Raise
Activate
Mobilise
Potentiate
Raise
While the main aim here is to increase heart rate, develop muscle elasticity, respiration rate, increase the body temperature and also improve the joint fluidity. This element of the warm up should be low intensity, however it is often an opportunity where we miss the ability to develop performance at the same time and to get a training benefit beyond the warm up alone. We should be thinking beyond just a gentle jog, cycle, row here.
To maximise this element of the session this portion of the warm up should look at developing movement in multiple planes, and improving motor control, developing movement patterns.
Activate & Mobilise
This phase of the warm up will build on the work done in the raise portion of the warm up. It will maintain the physiological responses that have already been elicited. On top of this there are a number of immediate short term benefits and longer term adaptations this portion of the RAMP warm-up will produce.
Short Term:
Activates key muscle groups that will be challenged with the following training
Will mobilise joints and work actively through a range of motion
Long Term:
This will facilitate development of fundamental movement patterns
When looking to maximise this portion of the warm up though we should be looking at moving away from the traditional thought process of static stretching. The first consideration is that the activation and mobilisation work should be specific to the sport or training and to the movement patterns and muscles that will be used. Activation work at this stage could take the form of what would traditionally be considered prehab/rehab exercises such as resistance band routines, or it could be regressing a more complex movement like a back squat down to bodyweight variants. This will not only wake the body up and begin to groove a movement pattern or skill, but provides a time efficient way of building extra volume into the training session.
In terms of the mobilisation the focus should be on movement patterns, on trying to extend the range of motion and loosen up the joints. This will also mean that the benefits of the initial raise portion of the warm up are maintained. At this stage we can also begin to build in movements that are more specific to sport. Unlike the traditional static stretching method where the muscles are relaxed, the mobilisation here requires the muscles to be actively moved through a range of motion. The benefit of this is it builds on the activation of all the muscles involved, plus increases the activation of the central nervous system (CNS).
Both elements of the activation and mobilisation will require work that is more intense than the raise portion of the warm up as well and lead well in to the potentiation portion.
Potentiation
The final element of the warm up, also the portion that has the highest intensity. It will see a shift towards the main bulk of the session or the sport, exercises will become more explosive. This is the stage at which we build in high intensity movements and plymoterics, for example lateral bounds and sticks, landing mechanics, box jumps or sprint drills and agility.
There are two main aims of this portion of the warm up:
To improve performance to the point at which can perform the sport or activity at maximal levels
To enhance performance in the following training or performance through post-activation potentiation that comes from the targeted selection of the exercises in this portion of the warm up.
To help enhance performance and allow an individual to perform at maximal levels the exercises here will provide a progressive potentiation effect. That will however also provide a training stimulus of their own at the same time and contribute to the long term training load. For example utilising speed and agility drills here is a great way to ensure that an individual gets a stimulus of this within their training and perform it at the optimal time when the body is fresh, in turn providing the best stimulus for adaptation.
Conclusion
To summarise, utilising the RAMP protocol for warm ups will provide a platform that not only gradually build in intensity helping to maximise performance for the subsequent training session or sports performance. It also provides a way to maximise the time used, allowing for a training stimulus to be built into the warm up and creating the most time efficient manner of preparing for the main bulk of performance.
Thinking beyond passive stretching and some light cardiovascular based work will not just help to improve your long term athletic performance, but it will take your training up another level and allow you to get more from each session.