Warm-Up & Cool-Down Structure

Warm-up — two stages:

1. General warm-up — ~5–10 min of light aerobic activity (bike, brisk walk, row) to raise core/muscle temperature, heart rate, and blood flow (see warm-up-aerobic-general). The "RAMP" idea: Raise temperature/HR.
2. Specific warm-up — movement prep that resembles the session: dynamic mobility/activation drills (see dynamic-warmup-overview, Activate/Mobilize) and, for resistance work, ramp-up sets of the day's main lifts — progressively heavier, low-rep submaximal sets leading to the working load (Potentiate; see warm-up-specific). This rehearses the pattern and primes the nervous system.

A key sequencing rule: prolonged static stretching before power/strength work can transiently reduce force/power output, so static holds are better placed in the cool-down or on their own; the pre-session work should be dynamic (see warm-up-types, static-stretching).

Cool-down: ~5–10 min of easy aerobic activity tapering effort to ease the return of heart rate and breathing toward baseline (avoids abrupt blood pooling after hard cardio; see warm-up-cool-down), optionally followed by static stretching / mobility while warm — a low-cost slot to chip away at flexibility goals.

The warm-up always precedes the ordered work (session-exercise-order); the cool-down closes the session. The whole structure scales with intensity — a max-effort or plyometric day needs a thorough specific warm-up; an easy session needs little.

• Warm-up = general (5–10 min aerobic raise) + specific (dynamic prep + ramp-up sets).
• Use dynamic, not prolonged static, stretching before power/strength work.
• Ramp-up sets rehearse the pattern and prime the nervous system for the working load.
• Cool-down = 5–10 min easy aerobic taper; optional static stretching while warm.
• Warm-up thoroughness scales with session intensity (most for max/plyo days).

• session-exercise-order — warm-up precedes, cool-down follows the work.
• warm-up-aerobic-general, warm-up-specific, warm-up-types — warm-up detail.
• dynamic-warmup-overview — dynamic mobility/activation drills.
• static-stretching — better placed in the cool-down.
• warm-up-cool-down — the cardio-side warm-up/cool-down rationale.