A Gym Warm-up that Substitutes for an Actual Workout

This routine can be done to gauge your level of fitness, including mental resolve when it comes to pushing hard. And, it can be used as part of the workout routine itself. But no matter what your plans are, this routine is a great warm-up for any workout.

Set a pair of 5- to 12-pound dumbbells (depending on your strength and experience) near a treadmill. Warm up on the machine with a five-minute brisk walk. Make sure you swing your arms generously to get the blood going in the shoulder joints and loosen them as well. Do not hold onto the machine; this is cheating big-time.

At the five-minute mark, set the speed to 6 mph and jog for one minute. Slow to 3 mph, press the pause button, and step off. If the machine has no pause function, just let it quietly run by itself at 3 mph. (Some treadmills automatically stop after 30 seconds if nobody's on.)

Take the dumbbells and perform 20 lateral lifts. With weights in each hand, arms at side, the trainee is to raise arms upward and out at the sides, keeping arms slightly bent. Arms should not lift higher than parallel to the floor. Wrists must remain slightly tilted so that thumbs are angled upward (palms should be slightly tilted upward). Make sure that you stand with feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, back straight. Arms then lower to sides (no dropping arms, but a controlled lowering), and then the repetition repeats for a total of 20. Arms should not hang more than one second at your side. After the set, it's back on the treadmill.

Set speed to 7 mph for a one-minute run. Repeat this running and lateral-lift routine alternation until you running up to 10 mph. Do not take rests between the running and the lifting. Heart rate should be quite elevated each time you start a new 20-rep lifting segment.

After completion of the lifting drill/running intervals, walk easily on treadmill for two minutes. Then press pause and step off to grab a pair of 10-pound dumbbells. Get back on machine, set the speed at 2.5 mph (or slower), and raise the incline to 15 percent. Holding the weights, walk at this pace for 10 minutes.

If after five minutes, you sense this isn't strenuous, then increase speed to 2.8 or 3 mph or more, whatever it takes to get your heart pumping very hard, breathing very heavy. On the other hand, if within only about three minutes you're struggling for air, slow speed to 2.3 or even 2 mph, but be sure it's enough to make your calf muscles feel on fire.

Do not be surprised if this slow, uphill, weighted walk quickly burns you out. Hours and hours of doing more common forms of cardio, such as the elliptical, simple jogging, or the stair stepper, work the body in a different way than a slow but steady, steep and weighted pace of walking.

After 10 minutes, lower incline to zero, set down the dumbbells, and cool off with a moderate walk for three minutes. Follow up with five minutes of leg stretching and two cups of water.