Stop Wasting Your Warm-Up: 5 Essentials We Use at The Athlete Lab

Hi friends—Vicki Ostendorf here, Head Coach at The Athlete Lab.

Let’s get real: most warm-ups miss the mark.

They’re rushed. Generic. And they fail to prepare the body—and mind—for the real work ahead.

At The Athlete Lab, we don’t believe in wasted reps—or wasted warm-ups. The right preparation sets the tone for a strong, safe, and effective session, whether you’re training for your first 5K, chasing an Ironman finish, or simply building a stronger, more capable body for life.

Here are 5 warm-up principles we coach every day at The Lab—because training smart starts with rep one:

1. Make Warm-Ups Specific to the Day and the Goal

If the workout calls for sprinting, agility, or change of direction, your warm-up needs to rehearse those demands—not just raise your heart rate. We prep movement patterns, not just muscles.

2. Use the Warm-Up as a Readiness Screen

At The Lab, we coach our athletes—and our coaches—to treat every warm-up like a live movement assessment. Tight hips? Stiff ankles? Signs of fatigue? The warm-up reveals what adjustments we need to make before loading or high-intensity work starts.

3. Follow the 2-4-4 Prep System

One of our favorite warm-up frameworks includes:✔️ 2 drills for Ankles (mobility, stability)✔️ 4 for Hips (activation, mobility)✔️ 4 for Trunk/Shoulders (core firing, posture control)

Simple, scalable, and tailored to every athlete we work with—from beginners to advanced.

4. Don’t Skip Soft Tissue Work

Foam rolling, mobility prep, tissue release—it’s not optional here, especially for older athletes, desk-bound bodies, or anyone returning from injury. Quality soft tissue work lays the foundation for better range of motion and fewer compensation patterns.

5. Match the Warm-Up to the Training Demands

Strength day? You’ll see hip hinges, glute activation, and hamstring prep in our warm-ups.Mobility or recovery day? The focus shifts to breath work, joint flow, and control.Every day deserves the right preparation—not a one-size-fits-all routine.

At The Athlete Lab, warm-ups aren’t an afterthought—they’re the first step to injury prevention, performance, and confidence-building movement.

It’s how everyday athletes become stronger, more capable humans—in and out of the gym.

Want to train smarter from rep one? Come see how we do it at The Lab.

Vicki Ostendorf

Founder, Head Coach, Ironman Athlete

The Athlete Lab | Train for Life