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Exercises

Warm up exercises: 10 basic moves and how to string them together

Published October 24, 2026

Ten basic warm up exercises cover almost any workout: jumping jacks, high knees, butt kicks and skipping in place to get warm; arm circles, bodyweight squats and ankle circles to move the joints; then mountain climbers, plank shoulder taps and star jumps to get your trunk and legs ready to work. Pick five, do each for 30 to 45 seconds or 10 to 15 reps, and you are warm in five to seven minutes.

  1. Jumping Jack Calves, Quads
  2. High Knees Quads
  3. Butt Kicks Hamstrings
  4. Arm Circles Shoulders
  5. Bodyweight Squat Quads
  6. Mountain Climber Abs
  7. Star Jump Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes

Moves that get you warm

These four raise your heart rate without equipment. Do 30 to 45 seconds of each at a pace you could keep up for a few minutes.

Heart rate and shoulders

Jumping Jack

Calves, Quads

The best-known warm-up for a reason: it gets your whole body moving and lifts the arms overhead every rep.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall, feet together, hands relaxed.
  2. Hop your feet out wide as your arms swing up overhead.
  3. Hop back to the start and keep a steady rhythm.

Cues

  • Stay light on the balls of your feet.
  • Full arm range on every rep.

Common mistakes

  • Landing flat-footed and heavy.

Swap for: Star Jump, Skipping in Place

Build a session with Jumping Jack

Hip flexors and pace

High Knees

Quads

Driving the knees up raises your heart rate fast and works the front of the hips.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall and start jogging in place.
  2. Drive each knee up to hip height while pumping your arms.
  3. Keep the pace quick but controlled.

Cues

  • Land on the balls of your feet.
  • Stay tall rather than leaning back.

Common mistakes

  • Knees creeping lower as you tire.

Swap for: Skipping in Place, Butt Kicks

Build a session with High Knees

Quads and running rhythm

Butt Kicks

Hamstrings

The heel flick moves the knee through its full bend and pairs naturally with high knees.

How to do it

  1. Jog in place with your torso upright.
  2. Flick each heel up toward your glutes.
  3. Keep your knees pointing down at the floor.

Cues

  • Quick, light contacts.
  • Arms swing as if running.

Common mistakes

  • Letting the knees drift forward.

Swap for: High Knees, Fast Feet

Build a session with Butt Kicks

Calves and coordination

Skipping in Place

Calves, Quads, Hamstrings

A gentler option than high knees when you want to warm up without much impact.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall with your fists beside your hips as if holding rope handles.
  2. Circle your hands and bounce lightly from one foot to the other, as if skipping over a turning rope.
  3. Keep the bounces low and springy for the whole interval.

Cues

  • Bounce off the balls of your feet
  • Hands circle, elbows close
  • Relaxed shoulders

Common mistakes

  • Stomping on the heels: stay on the front of your feet.
  • Hopping high: a small bounce clears an imaginary rope.

Swap for: High Knees, Jump Rope

Build a session with Skipping in Place

Moves that loosen your joints

Slow, full-range reps for shoulders, hips, knees and ankles. Ten to fifteen reps each is enough.

Shoulders

Arm Circles

Shoulders

Grow the circles from small to big and reverse them; it takes 30 seconds and you can do it anywhere.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall with both arms straight out to your sides at shoulder height.
  2. Draw small circles forward, then grow them until your hands sweep past your hips and overhead.
  3. Reverse direction and run the same small-to-large sequence backward.

Cues

  • Arms stay long from shoulder to fingertip.
  • Shoulders stay down, away from your ears.

Common mistakes

  • Shrugging up as the circles get big.

Swap for: Plate Halo, Band Pull-Apart

Build a session with Arm Circles

Hips, knees and ankles

Bodyweight Squat

Quads

The squat moves three joints at once, and pausing at the bottom of the first few reps lets the hips open.

How to do it

  1. Stand with feet about shoulder width and arms out front for balance.
  2. Sit down and back between your hips as deep as you can with flat heels.
  3. Stand up and squeeze your glutes at the top.

Cues

  • Chest up, knees follow the toes.
  • Pause a second in the bottom on the first few reps.

Common mistakes

  • Heels lifting at the bottom.

Swap for: Goblet Squat, Band Squat

Build a session with Bodyweight Squat

Ankles

Ankle Circles

Calves

Worth the minute before running, jumping or squatting deep.

How to do it

  1. Stand on one foot, holding a wall if you need to, and lift the other foot just off the floor.
  2. Roll the raised foot in slow, full circles from the ankle, ten one way and ten the other.
  3. Switch feet.

Cues

  • Make the circle as big as the ankle allows.
  • Move the foot, keep the shin still.

Common mistakes

  • Rushing through tiny, fast circles.

Swap for: Leg Swings, Skipping in Place

Build a session with Ankle Circles

Moves that get your trunk and legs ready

The last three ask a little more: a plank that moves and a jump. They make the step into a workout feel small.

Core and hips under load

Mountain Climber

Abs

Running the knees in a plank warms the shoulders and core together and keeps your heart rate up.

How to do it

  1. Start in a high plank with hands under shoulders.
  2. Drive one knee toward your chest, then switch legs in a running rhythm.
  3. Keep going for the set time.

Cues

  • Hips level with the shoulders.
  • Hands push the floor away.

Common mistakes

  • Bouncing the hips up and down.

Swap for: Spider Plank, Plank Shoulder Tap

Build a session with Mountain Climber

Shoulder stability

Plank Shoulder Tap

Abs

Each tap shifts your weight to one arm, which gets the shoulders ready for push-ups and presses.

How to do it

  1. Set up in a high plank with feet a little wider than hips.
  2. Lift one hand and touch the opposite shoulder.
  3. Put it down and tap with the other hand.

Cues

  • Hips stay square to the floor.
  • Slow taps beat fast ones.

Common mistakes

  • Rocking side to side with each tap.

Swap for: Plank, Mountain Climber

Build a session with Plank Shoulder Tap

Leg power

Star Jump

Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes

A few big jumps at the end prepare the legs for faster, harder work. Keep it to 6 to 8 reps.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall with feet together and dip into a quarter squat.
  2. Jump up and spread arms and legs into a big X in the air.
  3. Bring the limbs back in and land softly to reset.

Cues

  • Reset fully between jumps.
  • Land with bent knees.

Common mistakes

  • Stringing reps together with stiff landings.

Swap for: Jumping Jack, Jump Squat

Build a session with Star Jump

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

Home workout, no equipment

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets18 a week
  • Per workout~10 min
  • EquipmentBodyweight

You are about to do a bodyweight workout in your living room.

Floor space and no gear, so the routine alternates a warming move with a joint move and finishes with planks, all at an easy pace that leaves energy for the workout.

Home warm-up
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Jumping JackSeconds. 1 × 45 4 0 s
Arm CirclesEach direction. 1 × 10 4 15 s
High KneesSeconds. 1 × 30 4 0 s
Bodyweight Squat 1 × 12–15 4 15 s
Mountain ClimberSeconds. 1 × 30 4 0 s
Plank Shoulder TapTotal taps. 1 × 10–16 4 15 s
How to run it
Work down the list once with no rest. About six minutes.
How to progress
Add 15 seconds to each timed move when the routine starts to feel too easy.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Before a run, class or cardio session

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts4× a week
  • Working sets20 a week
  • Per workout~10 min
  • EquipmentBodyweight

You are about to run, jump or take a fitness class.

Cardio sessions start fast, so this routine leans on the warming moves and ends with star jumps to prepare the legs for impact. It skips the planks.

Cardio warm-up
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Skipping in PlaceSeconds. 1 × 45 4 0 s
Butt KicksSeconds. 1 × 30 4 0 s
High KneesSeconds. 1 × 30 4 0 s
Ankle CirclesEach direction, per ankle. 1 × 10 4 15 s
Star Jump 1 × 6–8 4 15 s
How to run it
One pass, about five minutes, then start your session at an easy pace.
How to progress
Add a second round of high knees and butt kicks before intervals or a race.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Before lifting weights

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets15 a week
  • Per workout~10 min
  • EquipmentBodyweight

You are heading into a gym session with squats or presses.

Lifting needs mobile joints more than a high heart rate, so this routine gives more reps to squats and arm circles and finishes with shoulder taps to set the shoulders before pressing. Do your ramp-up sets of the first lift right after.

Lifting warm-up
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Jumping JackSeconds. 1 × 60 4 0 s
Arm CirclesEach direction. 1 × 12–15 4 15 s
Bodyweight Squat 2 × 15 4 15 s
Plank Shoulder TapTotal taps. 1 × 12–16 4 15 s
How to run it
One pass, then go to your first lift and warm up into it with light sets.
How to progress
If your hips feel stiff, add a second set of squats with a three-second pause at the bottom.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What are 10 basic warm-up exercises?

Jumping jacks, high knees, butt kicks, skipping in place, arm circles, bodyweight squats, ankle circles, mountain climbers, plank shoulder taps and star jumps.

What are some good warm-up exercises for the gym?

Five minutes on a bike or rower, bodyweight squats and arm circles, then light sets of your first lift.

How long should each warm-up exercise last?

Thirty to forty-five seconds, or 10 to 15 reps. Five or six moves take five to seven minutes.

What are good warm-up activities?

Anything easy that moves the joints you are about to use: skipping, light jogging, squats, arm circles. Then rehearse the session's main movement at low effort.

Do I need to stretch before I exercise?

Not with long holds. The moving exercises on this page stretch you as they warm you up; static holds fit better after training.