warmups and long commute problem

[everything]

so I have a small problem and not sure what the answer is ... well I guess I have an answer but want to see what you say. Here it is.

1. my commute to my judo class is frigging long. 30-45 minutes.
2. the warm-up before class is ok but not really everything I'd want to do.
3. there is class right before so the mat is not open.
4. I could warm up some before I get in the car but then the drive cools me back down.

I guess my answer is, get there early, and find some other space to do my own warmup. Ideally, I'd warm up for at least half an hour with taiji forms, some yoga type moves, and other warmups ... before doing the class warmup. Then ideally do yoga after class. There isn't much space and I don't like getting funny looks in some other space (away form the mat)...

What do/would you do about this problem?

[Bär]

Smoke some weed and listen to Pink Floyd.

Sounds like there's no easy solution...maybe your dojo has some small unobtrusive space where you can warm up?

[Darth Rock&Roll]

1. in the car, do lots of kegels

2. as soon as you park do 50 jumping jacks

You're welcome

[everything]

1. in the car, do lots of kegels

lol I think that's the warmup for something else

[Fubo]

It's not the perfect situation, but I'd recommend warming up right before training... even if the warmup is limited is some way. I use to have a similar issue, so I found a quite spot at the school and did what little I could (usually some standing and stationary drills as space was limited) in a small back room.

[bailewen]

Darth was joking but really not.

Half an hour is not a warm up. That's an exercise program. A warm up is just that, it warms you up. It should not take half an hour to break a light sweat which is all you need out of a warm up.

I have no idea why people are obsessed with warming up for the amount of time they could fit a whole workout in if they wanted to. Jumping jacks, running in place, skip rope, whatever. Just take 3 or 4 minutes to work up a sweat and bingo, you are warmed up. Taiji, yoga, half an hour of pilates...lol...they are not just "warm ups" for the "real" exercise.

Seriously, 5 minutes is PLENTY for a warm up.

[RobP2]

20 squats
20 press ups
20 sit ups

job done

[yusuf]

2 whiskies to warm up before the chimay is served..

[GrahamB]

Darth was joking but really not.

Half an hour is not a warm up. That's an exercise program. A warm up is just that, it warms you up. It should not take half an hour to break a light sweat which is all you need out of a warm up.

I have no idea why people are obsessed with warming up for the amount of time they could fit a whole workout in if they wanted to. Jumping jacks, running in place, skip rope, whatever. Just take 3 or 4 minutes to work up a sweat and bingo, you are warmed up. Taiji, yoga, half an hour of pilates...lol...they are not just "warm ups" for the "real" exercise.

Seriously, 5 minutes is PLENTY for a warm up.

I agree - I get really bored with warm ups - I'd much rather be doing something more interesting than half an hour of gently stretching every single bloody muscle in my body. I'm sure it feels great in a 'yoga' type way, but it's not for me...

Our XingYi warm up consists of taking a deep breath, exhaling and then going, "right, let's get on with it.." I'm sure modern health and safety types would have a heart attack about that, but that's the traditional way... for Tai Chi we do a bit more, since it's important to get the knees (especially) and major joints 'warm' first, but we don't go on doing it for ages. Of what I do, Choy Lee Fut needs the most warm ups, since there are major swinging movements.

[JoseFreitas]

Actually, the ideal warmup is to do whatever you're going to do later but slower and with less intensity. So, the ideal warmup for Xingyi is pretty much do the 5 Elements for a few reps each (say 8-10) and moderate speed and no power, in a lighter "looser" way. Then slowly increase. What I would do would be simply to add 2-3 minutes of jumping jacks or easy squats to increase the heart beat a bit, and to get the blood going, and then do Xingyi slowly in the beginning for 5-10 minutes or so. The Tang Shou Tao program used to teach a Five Element Linking Set that was practiced as a Qigong set - with pauses to hold stances with a prescribed amount of breaths, and doing it slowly with all the twists slightly exaggerated etc... - and that's and ideal way to warm up. As I said, I would always preface it with a few minutes of "something" with a cardio element, but I'm not sure it's mandatory.