Episode 65: Why a Warm-Up Routine Might Be the Missing Piece in Your Fitness Journey (Especially with ADHD or Autism)
In this episode of The Coaching Corner, I share how building a consistent warm-up ritual can completely change your fitness journey—especially if you have ADHD or autism. A structured warm-up not only helps your body prepare to move, but it also reduces mental load, helps with executive dysfunction, and can even stand alone as a mini workout on tough days.
👉 I break down the key elements of an effective warm-up:
✔️ Low-intensity cardio
✔️ Dynamic stretching
✔️ Personalized mobility work
Whether you're brand new to exercise or returning after burnout, this episode will help you create a warm-up that works with your brain and body. I also introduce you to my training app, where you’ll find structured workout plans and on-demand workouts for all levels.
💡 Perfect for:
Neurodivergent exercisers
People with ADHD or autism
Beginners looking for low-pressure ways to start
Anyone struggling with motivation or overwhelm
🎧 Listen above or watch below and learn how to make warm-ups your secret weapon for workout consistency.
The Power of a Ritualized Warm-Up
Creating a consistent warm-up isn't just about getting your body ready—it's about helping your brain shift gears, reduce mental load, and ease into movement.
For neurodivergent folks like us, a reliable ritual helps eliminate decision fatigue. It becomes an automatic routine that signals, “Hey, it’s time to move,” without requiring a huge burst of motivation or executive function.
And here’s the thing: your warm-up can also double as a mini workout on the days where everything feels too hard. I tell my clients all the time—you don’t need to do a full workout to succeed today. You just need to do something. And your warm-up absolutely counts.
What Makes a Good Warm-Up?
A solid warm-up includes a few key components:
1. Low-Intensity Cardio
Think of this as gently flipping the "on" switch for your body. March in place, walk, ride a stationary bike, or do light step-ups for 2–5 minutes.
2. Dynamic Stretching
Unlike static stretching, dynamic stretches involve movement. This might be arm circles, leg swings, or hip openers to get your joints lubricated and ready.
3. Personalized Mobility Work
This is where you address your own tight spots or movement limitations. Maybe it’s shoulder circles, foam rolling, or banded hip openers. Tailor it to your body’s needs.
Your warm-up doesn’t need to be fancy—it just needs to be repeatable and doable. That way, even on low-energy or overstimulated days, it’s something you can rely on.
A Warm-Up That Works for You = A Workout You’ll Actually Do
So many of my neurodivergent clients feel discouraged because they think they need to “go hard” or “do it perfectly” to make progress. But the truth is, consistency beats intensity every time.
Your warm-up can act like a gateway habit. Once you do it, you’re already in motion—and more often than not, you’ll feel ready to keep going. But even if you stop there? That’s a win.
Want Help Creating a Routine?
If you want guidance, I’ve created a training app with structured workout programs and on-demand movement sessions. You’ll find warm-up sequences, mobility flows, and full workouts—designed for different energy levels and different brains.
You don’t have to figure it all out on your own. I’ll bring the plan. You bring the effort.
Links
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Jayd (00:00):
When you first start at the gym, you are going to have to think about what you're doing for your warmup because anytime you start something new, it takes a lot of brain energy, it takes a lot of focus. But if you try to keep your warmup consistent, keep it the same every single time you train, you will reach the point where you don't have to think about it anymore. And that is a good place to be because especially on those days when you're feeling overwhelmed or really stressed and you just don't have the executive functioning to be able to output more energy, having the warmup on autopilot is a really easy low barrier to access entry to getting a workout in.
(00:48)
Hey there. Welcome to the Coaching Corner podcast. I'm Jayd Harrison, AKA Jaydigains. I've been a personal trainer and health coach for over 10 years, and I've created this podcast to share with you the same kind of tips and strategies that I share with my personal training clients to help them get strong, lose weight and eat better. Now, starting a fitness journey or coming back after a break can be really overwhelming. And if you're someone with ADHD or autism, the overwhelm can hit even harder. The noise, the stimulation, the list of exercises and the pressure to do it all and do it all perfectly, can really paralyze you to the point where you have trouble even starting your workouts. So what I encourage all my clients to do, and this is what I do for myself as well, is have a solid warmup routine that you don't have to really think about.
(01:40)
It's the same in every workout, and it helps you to kind of get in the mode or the mindset for your workout. And on the days where you're feeling too overwhelmed to do a full workout, the warmup ritual in and of itself will help you to get some blood flowing and get some circulation. And some days that's going to be all you can do and that's okay. So today I'm going to give you the same tips that I give my clients for building a solid warmup routine that you can just go on autopilot and do at the beginning of every workout so you don't have to think about it. Now, real quick before we get into the episode, please make sure to like this video if you are watching on YouTube and subscribe to my channel. So you always get the latest videos as they drop.
(02:26)
And if you're listening to this podcast, thank you so much. Make sure that you follow the show so you always get the latest episodes delivered right to your device. Also, keep in mind that if you are looking for a personal trainer or just a little bit of guidance with your workouts, I have recently just launched my training app and I'm so excited to open up my Gains library, which is a collection of my workout programs and on-demand workouts that I've created for my clients, and I'm making available to you. So links for that will be in the show notes or in the description below this video. Check it out. I would love to see you there and help you make some progress in your gains. Now, without further ado, let's get into the episode.
(03:15)
Remember, when you're experiencing executive dysfunction, you need to reduce the load on your brain as much as possible. So having a warmup routine that is memorized that you don't even have to think about is one less spell slot that you have to spend to get your workout going. And what I find with a lot of my people is that when they're in that mode, they're having trouble getting started, just getting the workout going by doing their memorized solid warmup routine actually gets them in the mode where they're actually ready to train. So let's talk about what a warmup is and what a good warmup routine contains. The warmup is the very first part of your workout, and the goal of it is to get your body ready for the more intense stuff that you're going to be doing later in the workout. What we're trying to do is get blood flow to the muscles.
(04:05)
We're trying to increase your core temperature by a few degrees, which will help you to get into the higher intensity work. We're also trying to get some synovial fluid flowing in your joints to protect your joints in the higher intensity exercises. A good solid warmup will also take your muscles through their full range of motion to help alleviate any tension or tightness so that you reduce the risk of pulling a muscle while you're training. A good warmup will also get your brain and your muscles connected because if you are neurodivergent, you probably spend a lot of time not really present in your body, probably lost in your thoughts. So getting into your muscles, getting into your body is another core part of a good warmup routine. Now, your warmup does not have to be super fancy or complicated. In fact, I recommend that you keep it as simple as possible.
(04:59)
So here's what I recommend for my clients. Whenever I train my clients, we always start with five to 10 minutes of a low steady state cardio warmup. So I tell my clients, pick the cardio machine of your choice and walk at a steady pace for a period of five to 10 minutes. You don't have to do anything super intense here. This is just low to moderate intensity to get you breathing a little bit faster, to get your heart beating a little bit faster, but not too crazy. We're trying to get warmth into your muscles and loosen you up. You should still be able to talk while you're doing your steady state cardio warmup. So a lot of times I use this time to check in with my clients while they're doing their cardio warmup. I'll stand nearby. I'll ask them questions like, how's your body feeling today?
(05:45)
Any aches or pains? How was your weekend? And this is a good time for me to check in with them, but it also keeps them working at a pace that is appropriate for the warmup because if you can't talk during your cardiovascular warmup, you're working too hard. Okay? So don't go crazy here. Now, after five to 10 minutes of walking on the treadmill, working on the elliptical using the rowing machine, you could walk outside or maybe go on a light jog outside as well, if that's something that you prefer. Just do something that gets your big muscles going, gets you moving in a repetitive motion but not too intense. You should still be able to talk while you do this activity. And after you've finished that five to 10 minutes, then I recommend doing a series of dynamic stretches. Now, dynamic stretches are different from static stretches.
(06:34)
Static stretches are where you hold a stretch for an extended period of time because you are trying to work on your flexibility. For instance, dynamic stretches are all about bringing your muscles through their full range of motion contraction and extension with very little or no load. That way you can loosen the muscles up and prepare them for the more intense exercises that are to come later in the workout. So I work my clients from head to toe or from the feet up depending on what we're feeling like doing that day. And we go through all of the major muscles and the major movements of the body. And for each of these stretches, we're not really holding them, we're just kind of gently going through the motion, spending a few seconds on the extension and a few seconds on the contraction so that we can practice elongating and contracting the muscles.
(07:25)
Now, this helps to loosen the muscles up so that they don't stay tight. It also helps you to scan your body to see if you have any trigger points or tight points that need a little bit more attention before you put those muscles under load. So while you're doing your dynamic stretches, you really want to pay attention to what feels tight, what maybe you need to spend a little bit more time stretching or maybe use a foam roller to help relieve tension in those muscles before you ask them to do anything intense. Now, if you're using my training app, there are several options for dynamic stretch videos that you can follow along with at the beginning of your workouts, depending on whether you want to be doing them standing or on the mat or seated. Now, it's important when you're doing your dynamic stretches to not overstretch yourself.
(08:12)
You only want to go to the point where you feel that tension in the muscles, but you don't want to feel any kind of sharp pains, okay? So respect your body and listen to it and respect its limits. So every time you're doing your dynamic stretches, you only want to go as far as your flexibility allows. This is not the time to be working on your flexibility. This is just to practice elongating and contracting the muscles. If you want to work on your flexibility, save that for the static stretching at the end of your workout or do a separate flexibility focused workout day. Now, after the dynamic stretches, I encourage you to perform mobility exercises that are specific to you and your body. So this is going to be different from person to person according to what kind of movement restrictions you have, or if you noticed any points that were really tight or muscles that were carrying a lot of tension while you were performing the cardio warmup and the dynamic stretches.
(09:09)
So mobility exercises might be foam rolling using a foam roller or other myofascial release piece of equipment to put pressure on your muscles to encourage them to relax so that they can more fully extend. But they might also look like specific mobility exercises like T-spine rotations or T ant side to side squats. These exercises are going to be specific to you and your body and what you need to work on and develop. So if you're working with a good coach, they will likely give you exercises for this part of your warmup that are specific to whatever it is that you guys are working on at the time. If you're using my training app, you can scroll down and select from the on demand mini workouts that are for different aspects of mobility, like ankle mobility, hip mobility, shoulder mobility if these things apply to you.
(10:01)
And you can use these as part of the beginning of your workout before you start to do the main challenge portion of your workout. So for me, my personal sticking points that I always have to work on during the mobility section of my warmups, I have to always foam roll my quads, especially my hip on my right side. That is just an area that because of my A DHD and the way that I sit and my hyper mobility and the way that I sleep, I'm always kind of in a weird position on my right hip and I find myself sitting and laying in a weird way when I'm not even thinking about it. Whenever I'm really focused and hyper-focused on something, I find myself sitting in these postures that tend to make my right hip tight. So at the beginning of my workouts, I have to spend particular attention on loosening up those muscles so that they don't bother me while I'm trying to squat heavy or run or box or kick the bag.
(11:00)
So I might do some foam rolling from my quads foam rolling on my hips, and then I might do some Spider-Man planks and side to side squats to help loosen up my hips. What you might need to do is totally personal to your body, and if you need some help, feel free to pop by my fitness streams when I go live on my Twitch channel. Twitch Do TV slash JD gains on Tuesdays and other times throughout the week as I have time. And you can come and ask me your question and let me know what's been bothering you. And I can give you a few tips and exercises that might help to add to your warmup routine. And mobility exercises can also be customizable to what kind of a workout you're doing that day. So I'm not always going to need to really work on my hips if I'm just doing an upper body day, but if I'm doing an upper body day, my mobility exercises going to be more focused towards my shoulder mobility and warming up external shoulder rotation again on my right side, which is my problem side.
(12:00)
So I'm going to make sure that I'm going to do lots of exercises to warm up external rotation on my right shoulder before I do a workout that's focused on bench press or overhead press, for example. And when you first start at the gym, you are going to have to think about what you're doing for your warmup because anytime you start something new, it takes a lot of brain energy, it takes a lot of focus. But if you try to keep your warmup consistent, keep it the same every single time you train, you will reach the point where you don't have to think about it anymore. And that is a good place to be because especially on those days when you're feeling overwhelmed or really stressed and you just don't have the executive functioning to be able to output more energy, having the warmup on autopilot is a really easy low barrier to access entry to getting a workout in.
(12:50)
And you know what? Some days all you're going to have the spoons for is the warmup, and you know what? That's okay. Doing something is better than doing nothing. So getting a warmup in at least gets you five to 10 minutes of cardiovascular work, which is great for your heart and will get some blood flowing to your muscles, get you some endorphins, which might help to lower your stress levels and improve your ability to focus. Doing the dynamic stretches will also help to alleviate tension that maybe you have built up through stress and anxiety, and then doing those mobility exercises is always a good idea. So feel free to do your warmup routine even as its own little mini workout on the days that you're feeling like you can't really do a whole lot, like you just don't have the executive functioning to do a whole workout. Doing the warmup is fine and it will still benefit. You do this kind of a warmup routine, and I promise you, your body will be so much more prepared to work and to push itself in the resistance training or in the cardio that you have planned so much better than if you were to just jump in and start cold.
(14:00)
That's the episode for today. I hope that you found it helpful and let me know what questions you have, what do you do for your warmup, and is there anything new that I presented here that you're interested in trying? And we'll start incorporating into your workouts. Leave those comments in the comments below this video if you're watching on YouTube. And don't forget that you can join me while I'm live on my Twitch channel, Twitch tv slash Jaydigains. I go live on Tuesdays in the fitness and health category and a couple other times throughout the week as I have time. If you want more information on me and the products and services that I offer, head to my website, Jaydigains.com. That's J-A-Y-D-I-G-A, ai and s.com. And make sure to sign up for my training app, which you can find more information about on my website. Just click on training app on the top menu. And that's it for today. Thank you so much again for joining me. I hope that you have a wonderful rest of your day, and I'll see you in the next episode. In the meantime, make sure that you eat your veggies, eat your protein, drink your water, and take care of yourself, and I'll see you soon.
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