Thread: What's your warm-up routine?

I've done the same warm up for years and I'm bored. It's tried and true, but I want new fresh ideas. Is anyone willing to share?

I do a few wide legged squats... fast and shallow... just kinda bouncing to the music, then a few slow and as deep as I can go. That gets the blood flowing enough for me to stretch. After I've stretched, I do about 4-5 min of hip and chest shimmies. That gets me going and it isn't too long.

Whenever I need to warm up on my own, I usually do a few minutes of shimmies and/or some saidi or dabke.
Then I do a few simple standing "stretches," nothing too intense or aimed at increasing my range. The latter would be the sort of thing I would do *after* a full workout.

edit: I just realized I'm in the instructor center. I am not an instructor, this is just what I do on my own.

If you're used to doing your warmup on the spot, you can try adding in some walking/ footwork patterns. Sometimes I get my girls to stride around in a big circle, catwalk style. Take long steps, swing the hips, add snake arms. It's a good way to get the blood pumping and still be a bit glam!

You can also do things like grapevine steps, 3-step turns, even a box step for fun. Doubly useful for beginners who need to learn the foot patterns.

LOL. Well it takes me about an hour to warm up. I stretch. I do isolations, I teach a class, my pulse starts to kick in.

Eventually.

I'm not actually sure I'm still alive...l;,

I warm up the fluid in my joints first.
Shoulder circles, wrist circles
Ankle circles
Pick your leg up from hip and bend the the knee (like a horse)
Point foot out to he front, side and back (this rotates the hip)
Then I do intense cardio for about 5 minutes - assorted shimmies and scissor step to a fast song

Originally Posted by ScarletDancer

I warm up the fluid in my joints first.
Shoulder circles, wrist circles
Ankle circles
Pick your leg up from hip and bend the the knee (like a horse)
Point foot out to he front, side and back (this rotates the hip)
Then I do intense cardio for about 5 minutes - assorted shimmies and scissor step to a fast song

I'm a huge proponent for this! Joint issues are common in my neck of the woods (aren't they everywhere?), and I'm no exception. I do joint stuff, then move on to muscles.
I do some basic stretches and a little bit of conditioning, especially with the legs. Wide-legged squats are current faves with gentle lunges afterward(be watchful and explain proper alignment with the knee over the ankle to avoid injuries). If regular forward lunges aren't well-received, doing backwards lunges are just as helpful with less chance of injury. I like big arm circles and shoulder rolls moving into snake arms.
I'm sure these are all common things in warm-ups. The rest of what I do is pretty much the same as any teacher I've had, so it's probably stuff you already do anyway.

For variation I either start from head down to feet or from down up.

Anything that involves bending your nees a lot (like squats) should only be done AFTER you have warmed up the knee joints - simply walking on the spot is one way to do this. Either lift up your knees high in front or your heels high in the back.

MEISSOUN

Originally Posted by meissoun

For variation I either start from head down to feet or from down up.

Anything that involves bending your nees a lot (like squats) should only be done AFTER you have warmed up the knee joints - simply walking on the spot is one way to do this. Either lift up your knees high in front or your heels high in the back.

MEISSOUN

Agreed! and also people are no longer recommending static stretches until the body is warmed up. That used to be SOP until research revealed it actually weakens the stretched muscles.

I think "slower is better" with warmups, maybe allow a full 15 minutes AT LEAST, especially true if you are older and/or teaching out of shape people.

Tooting, but mine is on the Volume I DVD and meant to be purchased by those who wish to add additional elements to their own teaching warm ups.

AZHIA - Store

Can anybody recommend a DVD with a really good, LONG warmup on it? I am actually thinking of using this as a way to wake up and get moving in the morning.

I have Jamila al-Wahid's "warmup and Egyptian combos" but that's more of a cardio warmup. It's good, but not exactly what I'm looking for.

BTW - Azhia, I just bought your set of dvds, so maybe they will do the trick. :)

i start with big arms up and down a few times, followed by big arms with forward bends, squat and up straigt again. May follow with some lounges, make my way down to the floor for abdominal work. and always drill shimmies and usually we seem to have our heart rate up. Always include full range motion moves and the breath.

Also very interested to hear people's comments on videos that cover this topic.
Once I took a workshop in Saskatoon with Fatem Salama, and she had the best warm ups i have ever experienced in all my years of workshops.

Originally Posted by RaqOn

I've done the same warm up for years and I'm bored. It's tried and true, but I want new fresh ideas. Is anyone willing to share?

I use some Yoga stretching, I start with breathing exercise inhaling and exhaling, neck roll's or head roll's if you will, and then into postsion 2 squats (legs spread wide) as you squat(Inhale) raise your arms slowly above head, let palm's touch, exhale on standing straight bring arms down and out to sides, arms down then repeat into squat, also when in squat(legs spread wide) put palms on neens then lean right shoulder down to center looking over left shoulder, this is a good streach repeat for both sides 3 or 4 times, I also do shoulder roll's to help my students relax you can mix any yoga stretching with standard stretching together to mix it up sometimes, check out Yoga sometime if you have not this could help, I hope this was helpful.

I use a lot of the exercises from Cassandra's conditioning DVDs, gradually moving into slow, round dance movements and then into various shimmies. I'll also use some of the material from Hadia's warm up on her 4-DVD set--the first DVD is actually all about warming up, for those looking for new inspiration.

Preface: I teach American Cabaret style.

I love to start class by playing some bass-pounding (usually House-style: Chemical Brothers, Prodigy, Vegas) music or energetic Punjabi beats. The beat drives movement so easily and gets my heart-rate up. I don't have a long class, so I usually only do a 5 min warmup (one song). Songs I'm groovin' right now for warm-ups:

"Hot Ride" by Prodigy
"Time Is Now" by Oojami
"Punjabi Girl" by DJ APS featuring Amarjit Sandhu

I start by loosening up the joints with hip circles, leaning from one hip to the other, moving the arms up and around, doing hand-flowers or wrist circles. Sometimes I call out the name of the move, if it has an name. I try to repeat the step for at least 16 - 32 counts, so everyone can follow along easily. I encorporate basic steps like figure 8 hips, umis, snake arms, hip slides/drops/twists, hip and shoulder shimmies, head slides, etc. I might throw in non-bellydance moves too, like squats and wind-mill arms. If we are doing a choreography, I try to sneak steps from the choreo into the warmup to prepare the students.

My warmups are "improv", that is to say, I don't have a set routine that I repeat. I choose a new song each week and just DANCE! I find that mixing up the music with non-bellydance songs keeps it fresh and gets the blood pumping. :)

Originally Posted by Yasaman25

I use some Yoga stretching, I start with breathing exercise inhaling and exhaling, neck roll's or head roll's if you will, and then into postsion 2 squats (legs spread wide) as you squat(Inhale) raise your arms slowly above head, let palm's touch, exhale on standing straight bring arms down and out to sides, arms down then repeat into squat, also when in squat(legs spread wide) put palms on neens then lean right shoulder down to center looking over left shoulder, this is a good streach repeat for both sides 3 or 4 times, I also do shoulder roll's to help my students relax you can mix any yoga stretching with standard stretching together to mix it up sometimes, check out Yoga sometime if you have not this could help, I hope this was helpful.

May I strongly suggest you modify this warmup.

First most people (possibly not you) need a cadio warmup first which raises internal body temperature and gets the joint fluids moving (people have suggested a number of ways including walking, travelling steps and arms swings) before any type of static stretch.

Neck/head circles should never been done as a "warmup" unless you are already warm, have mobilized the neck in the three planes and have a reason to need it eg you will be doing zar or khaleegy - and even then with extreme care

Squats are also on the "with care" list. Best done after the body is warm.

When I warm-up for my own practice session I usually just put on a fast-paced song and do whatever feels comfortable along with it.

For my beginners class I usually start with stretching up to get people out of their working/studying-day posture. Then there will be excercises for the side and torso muscles. Then shoulder and arm rolls at the same time with stepping on the same place. Then basic step with different arm positions. And then slow shimmies.

I have been thinking of coming up with a new warm-up routine, so I definitely appreciate all your ideas!

Originally Posted by kashmir

May I strongly suggest you modify this warmup.

First most people (possibly not you) need a cadio warmup first which raises internal body temperature and gets the joint fluids moving (people have suggested a number of ways including walking, travelling steps and arms swings) before any type of static stretch.

Neck/head circles should never been done as a "warmup" unless you are already warm, have mobilized the neck in the three planes and have a reason to need it eg you will be doing zar or khaleegy - and even then with extreme care

Squats are also on the "with care" list. Best done after the body is warm.

This is a start of warm up, I don't think I could type my whole warmup in only 3000 characters lol if you would want details, but no I don't need to modify this warmup, seeing as how I do different warm up's and don't just have one, everyone has a different warm up that works best, the neck/head circles are to help loosen up the neck before start, and in cool down, this is one way I do things and I do not plan to change it, thank you for the insight.

Originally Posted by Yasaman25

This is a start of warm up, I don't think I could type my whole warmup in only 3000 characters lol if you would want details, but no I don't need to modify this warmup, seeing as how I do different warm up's and don't just have one, everyone has a different warm up that works best, the neck/head circles are to help loosen up the neck before start, and in cool down, this is one way I do things and I do not plan to change it, thank you for the insight.

It is the "start" that is the problem. There is lots of studies done on how the body works and what increases the chance of injury (both in dance and in sport). Most dance teaching courses cover it in some depth. You can even read it in books - and online. If you are not interested in learning a major part of your job as a teacher yet then maybe you might reconsider when a student gets a significant injury sues you. Because you should know this stuff.

Peformance warmup: 4 min cardio warmup (30 secs of abs then 30 secs of pressups then 30 secs of shallow squats/gluts, repeat for 4 mins), followed by a 15 min stretch & tone to warm up hips and legs and active abs, which leads into a 30 min drill/isolation section which contains feet (travelling), arm patterns and torso work (relevent to the performance). Every 3-4 mins I stop for 10 ab activators (my performances tend to contend back bend type movements and these ensure my abdominals are working).

A Beginner class: 3-4 min cardio involving an upbeat piece of music, with loose shimmies, arm swings and gentle yet active movements to get the blood going.

An Intermediate class:4 min cardio above, 5 min stretch & tone intermingled with ab activiators.

A Serious class (experienced & committed students who understand their body's limitations): would be the performance warmup plus lots of ab activators and a few wall based handstands & reverse looks, not necessarily meant to be achieveable, but to inspire goals.

Ab activators: lie on the floor with your feet flat & lower abs engaged to slightly lift your tailbone off the floor, contract your upper abs, followed by your mid abs (navel), lastly lower abs, your head and shoulders (just the top of) should come off the floor only slightly perhaps 2-4 inches hold for 1, then release the abdominals in reverse order: lower, middle, upper, hold for 1 then repeat. It is not meant to be a situp or crunch, just a wakeup call to your abdominals to work.