Intentional Warm Ups: Why 5 Minutes of Focus Beats 10 Minutes of Slop

When it comes to intentional warm ups CrossFit athletes often overlook, I recently returned from coaching at my training camp in Tenerife, and if there was one recurring theme I found myself hammering home with the athletes there, it was the concept of Intention.

In most commercial gyms, the warm-up is treated like a social hour. It's ten minutes of vague stretching while chatting about the weekend, or five minutes of mindless pedalling on a bike while looking at a phone. Even in some CrossFit boxes, I see athletes "going through the motions"—moving their limbs because the whiteboard told them to, but with their brains completely switched off.

At CrossFit Chiltern, I personally prefer to get down to business early. I know your time is valuable. Most of our members are busy professionals or parents in Amersham who have exactly 60 minutes to change their physiology. We don't need long, drawn-out, 20-minute "fluff" sessions. But—and this is a big "but"—the warm-up you do must be intentional. I would rather see 5 minutes of focused, high-quality preparation than a 10-minute sloppy mess.

The Myth of the 20-Minute Prep

One of the most common things I hear is, "Jeremy, I just need a long time to get warm." Usually, when I hear this, I watch that person for a few minutes. What I see isn't "preparation"; it's procrastination.

People who want longer warm-ups are often the ones who just wander through the gym, adjusting their shoes three times, chatting to three different people, and performing "stretches" that look more like they're trying to find a comfortable position to nap in. They waste 15 minutes doing "stuff" without any real purpose. This isn't warming up; it's a safety blanket used to avoid the intensity of the workout that's coming.

If you move with purpose, you can prime your central nervous system and get your core temperature up in a fraction of the time. The goal of a warm-up is to prepare the body for the specific demands of the WOD, not to kill time until you feel "ready." You'll never feel 100% ready for a heavy set of thrusters—the goal is to be technically primed and physiologically "switched on."

The Spiderman: A Masterclass in Purpose

We do Active Spidermans very regularly in our programming. It is one of the most effective "bang for your buck" movements we have. But are you actually doing it well, or are you just reaching for the floor?

When I coach the Spiderman, I'm looking for four specific points of intention:

1. The Hip Flexor Drive: As you lunge forward, are you actively driving your rear hip toward the floor? If you're just resting there, you're missing the stretch.
2. The Knee Flare: Are you driving your front knee outward? This opens the hip and loosens the adductors, preparing you for the depth of a squat.
3. The Rotation: As you rotate your arm to the ceiling, are you externally rotating the shoulder to create stability?
4. The Elbow-to-Instep: On the way down, are you tucking that elbow inside the ankle to further the hip stretch?

When you apply that level of intention, the Spiderman stops being a "stretch" and starts being a system reset. You aren't just moving; you are mobilising and activating your nervous system much more efficiently.

The Mind-Muscle Connection in the RDL

Another example we worked on in Tenerife was the Romanian Deadlift (RDL). This is a movement that is incredibly easy to do poorly. If you just lower the bar and stand back up, you're just moving a piece of metal through space.

Instead, I want you to focus on the "Internal Load." On the way down, you should be searching for the stretch in your hamstrings. You are lengthening the muscle under tension. On the way up, your brain should be shouting at your hamstrings and glutes to "fire" and pull you back to standing. If you don't feel that specific activation, you aren't warming up for a deadlift; you're just tiring yourself out.

The "Empty Barbell" Discipline

The most common place I see "slop" is during the empty barbell portion of the class. It's just an empty bar, right? Wrong.

Empty barbell cleans and front squats are the most dangerous time for your technique. Why? Because the weight is light enough that you can "cheat" and get away with it. But when you do this, you are teaching your body "crappy" movement patterns. You are etching bad habits into your motor cortex.

When you pick up that empty bar at CrossFit Chiltern, I want to see the same discipline you'd use for a 100kg lift:

• The Full Grip: No "lazy" fingertips. Wrap your hands.
• The Rack Position: Drive those elbows up and in. Create the shelf.
• Bar Contact: Ensure the bar is making contact in the right place on the hips during the clean.

If you are intentional during those "easy" reps, you are building the "Growth Engine" that will carry you through a heavy 1RM or a high-intensity Open workout.

Efficiency is the Goal

My philosophy is simple: 5 minutes of intentional movement is worth more than 20 minutes of wandering around. By switching your brain on during the warm-up, you reduce your risk of injury and increase the ROI of the actual workout. You arrive at the "3-2-1-GO" buzzer with a body that is genuinely primed to perform, not just a body that is a bit warmer.

Don't waste your time being sloppy. Respect the movement, respect the cues, and use every second of your time in the box to become a more capable athlete.

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