You go to the gym and hop on a bike for 20 minutes, now lets load up the bar and attempt a squat pr. How do you think that will go? How's this: go to the gym do some air squats then load up the bar and attempt a pr. Getting closer...
What exactly is warming up for and why even do it? Contrary to popular opinion warming up has much less to do with actually getting warm than it does to allow the athlete to prime your body for large amounts of motor unit recruitment. Say what... Think like this, just because you're wearing sweatpants doesn't mean you will squat better because you are warmer.
What even is a motor unit and why do I have to recruit it? Imagine in your muscles you have a bunch of workers, say 100, depending on your ability to recruit said workers will determine the efficiency of the action. Without recruiting motor units (workers) the muscle will not perform to their maximum potential or full capacity 100 workers. Tudor O. Bompa states "... motor unit recruitment pattern is affected not only by the force exerted but also by the contraction speed, type of muscle contraction, and the metabolic state of the muscle." (Periodization, 233). This explains why hoping on a bike will not help a 400 lb back squat pr directly as the force required will not justify enough recruitment to lift 400 lbs.
So how does this help me? All warmups should be directed in some way towards the lift you are about to partake in. Depending on age, injury history, and fatigue level our warm up can be vastly different to another person even if they are about to execute the same lift as you. Understanding your body and how it reacts to load will help you determine which warmups would be most effective and why. Quick example is an athlete who has a slight hip shift in their squat, that athlete may benefit from a single leg glute bridge in the warm up to allow for equal recruitment of motor units in the lift.
Going back to what effects recruitment the contraction speed plays another big role in warming up. Many people say to "lift with intent" or to not "go through the motions" your body will not gain the same amount of stimulus to a lift which is contracted slow as compared to fast. Applying intent to the lift allows for a much larger recruitment of muscle fibers. Using an extreme example to simplify, if you concentrically take on average 2-4 seconds in a squat and you take 10 seconds in the concentric portion of your warm up that will result will only reduce your maximum potential for the lifting day.
So to recap, the next time you warm up for a lift make sure to direct your warm up to prime the body for whatever you are about to do, remove excess low intensity work (biking/walking) as this only wastes your time an energy if preparing to lift heavy weights, move with intent for all your lifts to maximize potential. Then go toss some weights around!!
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