In our view, the warm-up is the most underestimated part of any training session, especially in football. It's easy to think of it as a box to tick: get loose, raise the heart rate, move on to the "real" work. That's not wrong, but it's a fraction of what the warm-up can do.
At Tanner Speed Academy, we see it differently. Done properly, the warm-up doesn't just prepare you to train. It makes you a better player while you do it.
More than getting warm
Yes, a warm-up raises your body temperature and gets your system going. But that's the bare minimum. The real value lies in everything you can stack on top of it.
Every minute you spend warming up is a minute you can use to actually improve, as long as what you're doing carries over into the game. That's the principle that should guide every drill you choose: transfer. If a movement in your warm-up has nothing to do with how you move on the pitch, it's filling time. If it mirrors the accelerations, direction changes, and decisions you make in a match, it's training in disguise.
When we use our Golden 8 warm-up, for example, we're not moving for the sake of moving. We're activating the exact muscles we rely on when we play football. The body gets warm, but it's also getting sharper at the thing we're about to ask it to do.
Consistency beats variety
One thing that's easy to overlook: the warm-up only works if you do it regularly.
If you run one routine today, a different one next session, and something else the week after, you blunt the effect. The adaptations you're chasing, sharper activation, better movement patterns, faster decision-making, come from repetition. Pick a quality warm-up and commit to it. Constancy is what turns a warm-up from a box-ticking ritual into a genuine performance driver.
How to build a good warm-up
A strong warm-up isn't random. It follows a clear progression, and we'd recommend structuring yours around three principles.
Start at the beginning, and start low. The warm-up belongs at the very front of the session, when the body is still relaxed. From there, you build from low intensity to high. Begin with your regular activation exercises, then progress into acceleration runs as the body prepares for higher demands.
Build toward game intensity. Once you're moving well, bring in competitive elements, small games and challenges that push players toward the speed and intent they'll need when the football part begins.
Warm up the brain, not just the body. This is the piece we'd most encourage you to add, and it's the one that's easiest to leave out. The brain is a muscle too. Warm it up and it performs better. That means cognitive drills where players have to react and decide, not just move on command. In our number drills for example, players have to read a cue and respond: run forward, run backward, change direction. Reacting, deciding, changing direction, these are exactly the demands of the game. Train them in the warm-up and you are getting better prepared into a session or game.
The takeaway
Don't underestimate the warm-up. It isn't something to grind through because you're "supposed to." Approached the right way, with transfer, consistency, and a bit of cognitive challenge built in, the warm-up becomes an efficient tool for becoming a better football player.
Get warm. Get sharp. Then go play.
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