Warm Up Foundations: The Essential Theory for Pole, Aerial and Dance

About Course

A practical, evidence-based course for instructors and students who want to warm up with purpose.

Whether you teach or train pole, aerial or dance, your warm up is the foundation of every session. A well-designed warm up prepares your body and brain, improves performance, reduces injury risk and helps you get more out of your training time. Yet most warm ups are improvised, rushed or copied from generic fitness routines.

This course changes that.

Warm Up Foundations takes you from guesswork to confident programming using clear explanations, real-world examples and practical tools that you can use straight away in classes, studios and home practice sessions or at competitions or performances.

This course is designed for:

Pole, aerial and dance instructors who want to build safer, smarter and more effective warm ups for students of all levels.
Home students and recreational movers who want to understand what their bodies need before training so they can progress confidently and reduce injury risk.
Everyone who wants a consistent, evidence-based warm up structure for all sessions.

If you care about helping yourself or others move better, feel stronger and perform with confidence, this course is for you.

What you’ll learn

The science behind warm ups explained in simple, practical language
How to structure a warm up for different goals, such as strength, flexibility, flow, conditioning and performance
How to adapt warm ups for different levels, spaces, time limits and equipment
How warm ups support skill development, injury prevention and nervous system readiness
How to create warm ups that work for pole, aerial and dance without copying generic gym routines

What you’ll be able to do by the end

Build warm ups that are purposeful, efficient and tailored to your discipline
Confidently explain why a warm up matters to your students
Design different warm ups for strength days, flow days, flexibility days or performances
Adapt your warm up on the spot for class size, space, equipment or time constraints

Why this course

Evidence-informed but taught in plain English
Designed specifically for pole, aerial and dance
Practical and adaptable with examples and visuals you can use instantly
Inclusive and supportive for mixed-level classes, home practice and recreational movers

If you’re ready to warm up with intention, teach with confidence and move with more power, control and ease, let’s begin!

If you have any questions, please email us or better yet, use our forum where you can join discussions and be part of the Polisthenics community!

The science behind warm ups explained in simple, practical language
How to structure a warm up for different goals, such as strength, flexibility, flow and performance
How to adapt warm ups for different levels, spaces, time limits and equipment
How warm ups support skill development, injury prevention and nervous system readiness
How to create warm ups that work for pole, aerial and dance without copying generic gym routines

Course Content

Welcome and introduction
This module welcomes you to the Warm Up Foundations: The Essential Theory for Pole, Aerial and Dance, introduces your coach Anita and explains how to use the course effectively.

Welcome to the warm up course
How to use this course
Meet your coach Anita
Work with us
Aims and objectives

Introduction to warm ups
This module explains what warm ups are, why they matter and how they prepare your body and mind for training. It covers the history of warm ups, their benefits for performance and injury prevention and the different types.

The science of warm up
This module explores what actually happens in your body and mind during a warm up. Warming up triggers physiological, biomechanical and psychological changes that together prepare you for peak performance.

Physiological vs biomechanical vs psychological changes
Physiological changes
Force-velocity curve
Respiratory changes and oxygen availability
Cardiovascular changes and risk of sudden exertion
Oxygen debt and deficit
Metabolic priming and energy use
Neural activation and motor control
Biomechanical changes
Psychological changes
Postactivation potentiation

The science of flexibility
This module explains what flexibility is and how it's influenced by the nervous system, joint structure and strength. It breaks down different types of stretching and how they apply to your warm up.

What is flexibility
Flexibility vs mobility
Factors affecting flexibility
The science of stretching
Types of stretching
Static stretching
Dynamic stretching
Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation
Self myofascial release
Nerve mobilisation
Stretching, flexibility and warm ups
Does strength training reduce flexibility

Understanding physical demands
This module breaks down the physical demands of pole, aerial and dance, covering strength, endurance, flexibility, skill and power. It explains how understanding these elements helps you design smarter, more effective warm ups tailored to your training goals.

Strength training basics
Aerobic training basics
Flexibility training basics
Skill training basics
Plyometric training basics
The demands of pole, aerial and dance
Key muscle groups in pole, aerial and dance
Common injuries in pole, aerial and dance
Warm ups and injury prevention

Components of a warm up
This module introduces practical frameworks for designing warm ups, breaking them down into four key components and demonstrating how each phase progressively prepares the body and mind for safe and effective training.

How to create an effective warm up
This module teaches you how to design warm ups that are purposeful, adaptable and tailored to your specific training goals. It focuses on progression, individual needs and practical strategies like adjusting for time, space and using music.

How to design your warm up
What to include in your warm up
Intensity of a warm up
How to build injury prevention into your warm up
How to adapt your warm up to different goals
Designing time, space or equipment limited warm ups
Music selection
Common myths and mistakes
Tracking and modifying your warm up
How to design a cool down
A systematic review on the effects of stretching in a warm on gymnastic performance
Comparing the effectiveness of various warm ups on performance in rock climbers

Competition and performance warm up
This module teaches you how to design warm ups for competition and performance, focusing on mental preparation, energy management and adaptability so you can feel confident and ready when it's time to step on stage.

Conclusions
This module wraps up the course by reinforcing key concepts and empowering you to design intentional, effective warm ups. You also find a quiz, glossary and references for further reading.

Student Ratings & Reviews

No Review Yet

About Course

What Will You Learn?

Course Content

Welcome and introduction This module welcomes you to the Warm Up Foundations: The Essential Theory for Pole, Aerial and Dance, introduces your coach Anita and explains how to use the course effectively.

Welcome to the warm up course

How to use this course

Meet your coach Anita

Work with us

Aims and objectives

Introduction to warm ups This module explains what warm ups are, why they matter and how they prepare your body and mind for training. It covers the history of warm ups, their benefits for performance and injury prevention and the different types.

What is a warm up

History of warm up

Purpose and benefits of a warm up

Types of warm ups

The science of warm up This module explores what actually happens in your body and mind during a warm up. Warming up triggers physiological, biomechanical and psychological changes that together prepare you for peak performance.

Physiological vs biomechanical vs psychological changes

Physiological changes

Force-velocity curve

Respiratory changes and oxygen availability

Cardiovascular changes and risk of sudden exertion

Oxygen debt and deficit

Metabolic priming and energy use

Neural activation and motor control

Biomechanical changes

Psychological changes

Postactivation potentiation

The science of flexibility This module explains what flexibility is and how it's influenced by the nervous system, joint structure and strength. It breaks down different types of stretching and how they apply to your warm up.

What is flexibility

Flexibility vs mobility

Factors affecting flexibility

The science of stretching

Types of stretching

Static stretching

Dynamic stretching

Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation

Self myofascial release

Nerve mobilisation

Stretching, flexibility and warm ups

Does strength training reduce flexibility

Understanding physical demands This module breaks down the physical demands of pole, aerial and dance, covering strength, endurance, flexibility, skill and power. It explains how understanding these elements helps you design smarter, more effective warm ups tailored to your training goals.

Strength training basics

Aerobic training basics

Flexibility training basics

Skill training basics

Plyometric training basics

The demands of pole, aerial and dance

Key muscle groups in pole, aerial and dance

Common injuries in pole, aerial and dance

Warm ups and injury prevention

Components of a warm up This module introduces practical frameworks for designing warm ups, breaking them down into four key components and demonstrating how each phase progressively prepares the body and mind for safe and effective training.

Components of a warm up

RAMP warm ups

FIFA 11+ warm up program

Pulse raiser

Joint mobilisation

Muscle activation

Workout-specific preparation

Re-warm up

Cool down

How to create an effective warm up This module teaches you how to design warm ups that are purposeful, adaptable and tailored to your specific training goals. It focuses on progression, individual needs and practical strategies like adjusting for time, space and using music.

How to design your warm up

What to include in your warm up

Intensity of a warm up

How to build injury prevention into your warm up

How to adapt your warm up to different goals

Designing time, space or equipment limited warm ups

Music selection

Common myths and mistakes

Tracking and modifying your warm up

How to design a cool down

A systematic review on the effects of stretching in a warm on gymnastic performance

Comparing the effectiveness of various warm ups on performance in rock climbers

Competition and performance warm up This module teaches you how to design warm ups for competition and performance, focusing on mental preparation, energy management and adaptability so you can feel confident and ready when it's time to step on stage.

Warm up strategies for performances

Energy management

Mental preparation

Visualisation

Cool down after a performance

Conclusions This module wraps up the course by reinforcing key concepts and empowering you to design intentional, effective warm ups. You also find a quiz, glossary and references for further reading.

Summary