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Muscle activation exercises are an essential part of preparing your body for physical activity. They are short, isolated exercises that target specific muscles to wake them up and increase blood flow, thereby optimising results and reducing the risk of injury. The principles behind muscle activation are important for encouraging the optimisation of our entire body for fitness. This article will discuss the best muscle activation exercises to prepare your body for physical activity, including deadlifting, playing golf, squatting, and basketball. We will also explore the three laws of muscle activation in resistance training and the role of muscle fibre recruitment in muscle activation.
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What You'll Learn
Muscle activation exercises prior to training
Muscle activation exercises are a crucial component of your warm-up routine. They prepare your mind and body for the demands of your workout, enhancing performance and reducing the risk of injury. These exercises are particularly important before activities such as deadlifting, playing golf or basketball, and sports like soccer.
For the Core and Lower Body:
- Get into a tall kneeling position with something comfortable under your knees and a partner or weight holding your ankles down. Keep your core tight and trunk straight, lean forward, and then quickly lower yourself down, catching yourself with your hands before pushing yourself back up to the starting position. This exercise works your hamstring and core muscles.
- Lie on your back with your knees over your hips and your arms in front of your shoulders. Maintain contact between your lower back and the floor by engaging your core. Drop one leg and the opposite arm towards the floor, return to the starting position, and repeat on the other side. This exercise targets your abdominal muscles.
- Stand with your knees slightly bent and extend one leg behind you, hinging at the hips so your torso is almost parallel to the floor. Rotate your hips in the direction of your standing leg, return to the centre, and then rotate your hips to open out to the side. Repeat several times before switching sides. This exercise activates your glutes, ankles, and feet while challenging your balance.
For the Upper Body:
- W, T, and Y exercises are great for scapular muscular activation before overhead training. The W exercise targets the rhomboids, the T exercise minimises deltoid activation, and the Y exercise targets the low-trap fibres.
- Lie on your stomach with your legs and arms stretched out behind you and above your head, respectively. Your forehead should be resting on the floor. Exhale and slowly lift your arms, legs, and head off the ground, engaging your back muscles and glutes. Hold this position for 5 seconds and repeat for 3 sets.
- Using a resistance band, pull it apart while squeezing your upper back. Bring your arms backwards so that your shoulder blades retract and come together. When your arms are fully extended, squeeze your upper back muscles again, hold, and return to the starting position. Repeat this exercise 10 times for 3 sets.
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Resistance bands
One of the main benefits of resistance bands is that they allow for full muscle engagement throughout the movement, not just at the beginning. This is because the resistance of the bands is progressive, increasing with your strength curve. To maximise muscle activation, it is important to feel the elastic resistance throughout the exercise and not just at the end. This can be achieved by properly stretching the bands to create tension on the elastic tube even before starting the movement. For example, when doing a bicep curl, you can anchor the band with your feet shoulder-width apart instead of together to create tension at the start of the movement.
Another advantage of resistance bands is that they reduce the risk of muscle injuries. This is because they force us to move in a very controlled manner, which helps embed proper technique. Additionally, resistance bands make it easy to do metabolite training, which is when you lift in higher rep ranges (12-40 reps per set) while keeping constant tension on your muscles. This type of training can provoke muscle growth by increasing the production of local growth factors and hormones.
To build muscle with resistance bands, it is important to have the right equipment, a high resistance, and good posture. You can increase the resistance of the bands as you get stronger, challenging yourself to create progressive overload and training progression. It is also important to focus on compound exercises that work multiple muscle groups at the same time and to train consistently, aiming for 2-3 sets of 8-15 repetitions of each exercise, 2-3 times per week.
By incorporating resistance bands into your workouts and following these guidelines, you can effectively increase muscle activation and build muscle.
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Muscular pre-activation
The principle of starting power, as put forward by Hochmuth in 1974, is one of the key concepts in muscular pre-activation. This principle suggests that the highest forces can be achieved through maximal isometric preload, which means that the muscle is prepared for the upcoming load and can generate more force as a result. This idea has been further developed by researchers such as Bührle et al. (1983) and Linnamo et al. (2006), who have explored the relationship between preload and force generation.
Another important aspect of muscular pre-activation is the role of supramaximal forces. Researchers such as Singh and Karpovich (1966) and Crenshaw et al. (1995) have suggested that during eccentric action, it is possible to achieve greater forces than those achieved during concentric or isometric actions. This highlights the potential for utilising eccentric muscle actions in pre-activation exercises to maximise force output.
Furthermore, the proportionality between force and eccentric velocity has been explored by Schmidtbleicher et al. (1981) and Röthing and Größing (1990). Their research suggests that as the velocity of eccentric motion increases, the force generated also increases, but only when maximal pre-activation is achieved. This indicates that the speed of the eccentric motion plays a crucial role in the effectiveness of muscular pre-activation techniques.
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Muscle activation and strength training
Muscle activation exercises are an essential part of preparing your body for physical activity and preventing injuries. They are typically short, isolated exercises that target specific muscles to "wake them up" before a workout. Activation exercises are often performed as a warm-up and can easily be incorporated into your routine, requiring little to no equipment. They increase blood flow and enhance your mind-muscle connection, optimising your results and reducing the risk of injury.
There are various muscle activation exercises that you can do before strength training. For example, the glute bridge, bird dog, and glute kickback are great for activating the glutes and warming up the lower body. The single-arm cable lat pulldown targets the lats and is beneficial for those who struggle with back exercises. The dead bug is excellent for core activation and promoting whole-body stability. For the upper body, try the W, T, and Y exercises, which are fantastic for scapular muscular activation before overhead training.
Resistance exercises, such as using resistance bands, can also increase muscle activation. These exercises are characterised by heavy loading or demands for high power output, recruiting Type II muscle fibres. The banded monster walk, for instance, is a simple exercise that forces muscle activation to overcome the band's resistance, preparing the hip region for strength training.
Additionally, performing a series of pre-activation isometric exercises can improve explosive force. For instance, pre-activating the quadriceps femoris muscle can positively impact the maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC). This can be achieved through exercises such as lunges, which can be done before lower body strength training.
Remember, activations should be challenging yet manageable, leaving you with enough energy for your main workout. By incorporating muscle activation exercises into your routine, you can enhance your performance, improve technique, and optimise your body for strength training.
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Muscle activation and stretching
Muscle activation exercises are a great way to prepare your body for physical activity. They are typically short, isolated exercises that target specific muscles to "wake them up". Activation exercises increase blood flow to prepare the muscles for weightlifting, cardio, sports, or other physical activities. For example, doing 10 lunges per leg and repeating for a total of 3 sets is a great way to activate your muscles before a workout.
Stretching is also an important part of muscle activation and injury prevention. It helps to increase the length of a musculotendinous unit, essentially increasing the distance between a muscle's origin and insertion. There are three main types of stretching: static, dynamic, and pre-contraction. Static stretching is the most common type, where a specific position is held with the muscle under tension to the point of a stretching sensation. This can be done before or after a workout. Dynamic stretching involves moving a limb through its full range of motion and can be beneficial for maintaining muscle force. Pre-contraction stretching combines isometric muscle activity with an eccentric action, such as walking down stairs or receiving heavy objects into the hands.
Resistance bands can also be used to increase muscle activation. For example, the Band Pull-Apart exercise uses a resistance band placed around the ankles while standing with your head, shoulders, and chest forward. You then engage your glutes and core while keeping a slight bend in your knees. This exercise improves posture and can be made more challenging by using a stronger resistance band.
Overall, muscle activation and stretching are essential components of a warm-up and cool-down routine to optimize performance, prevent injuries, and speed up recovery.
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Frequently asked questions
Muscle activation exercises are short isolation exercises that target specific muscles to prepare them for physical activity. They are typically performed prior to workouts or physical activities to enhance performance and prevent injuries.
Muscle activation exercises are important because they help to warm up the body and increase blood flow to the muscles. This helps to optimize your workout performance and reduce the risk of injuries.
Muscle activation exercises are typically short and can be completed in a few minutes. They can be easily incorporated into your warm-up routine and require little to no equipment.
Some examples of muscle activation exercises include lunges, lateral monster walks with a resistance band, and core activation exercises. You can also try exercises like the W, T, and Y for scapular muscular activation or prone W's for activating muscles that act on the scapula and glenohumeral joint.
Resistance bands increase the difficulty of an exercise, which further enhances muscle activation. When choosing a resistance band, select one that allows you to maintain constant tension throughout the exercise.
