From Cold To Controlled: How To Warm Up Like A Pole Athlete
You know that feeling when you think you're warm, but then you get halfway through a spin or your first set of squats and your body’s like, “Actually... no thanks”?
Yeah. Been there, felt that.
Warming up isn’t just about “getting the blood flowing.” It’s the secret sauce that sets you up for strength, control, injury prevention, and performance – both on the pole and in your cross-training sessions. And yet… so many pole dancers either skip it entirely or default to a few rushed jumping jacks and a hamstring stretch.
Let’s change that.
In this blog, I’m going to walk you through an effective, intelligent, and efficient way to warm up using the RAMP protocol:
Raise, Activate, Mobilize, Potentiate.
It’s a science-backed structure that helps your body transition from rest to readiness so you can train hard and recover better.
Whether you’re heading into a pole practice, a cross-training workout, or a workshop where you’ll be pushing new skills, this guide will show you how to warm up like an athlete.
Why Warming Up Matters for Pole Athletes
Pole dancing is one of the most complex forms of movement out there. It demands:
Joint mobility
Muscular strength and control
Full-body coordination
Grip strength and neural drive
And a healthy dose of courage
You wouldn’t jump straight into the heaviest deadlift of your life without prepping your nervous system and joints, right? Pole deserves the same respect.
A well-designed warm-up:
✅ Prepares your muscles and joints for action
✅ Improves range of motion without passive overstretching
✅ Activates muscle groups you’re about to train
✅ Enhances movement quality and motor control
✅ Boosts power output and overall performance
✅ Reduces your risk of tweaks, strains, and flares
You’re not just “warming up” – you’re priming your body to move with purpose.
Let’s break it down with RAMP.
The RAMP Warm-Up Framework
RAMP stands for:
Raise
Activate
Mobilize
Potentiate
Think of it like a warm-up checklist. Each phase builds on the one before it. Together, they turn the dial up from 0 to pole goddess.
But here’s something a lot of people miss:
✨ One movement can (and often should) cover multiple phases. ✨
That’s not just allowed – it’s efficient. For example:
A pole climb raises your heart rate (Raise) and activates your grip, core, and lats (Activate)
A baby ballerina from the floor engages your shoulders and core (Activate), challenges your thoracic mobility (Mobilize), and gets your brain thinking about the trick (Potentiate)
The RAMP model isn’t meant to be rigid – it’s a framework that ensures your warm-up hits all the key components, without forcing you into four separate mini workouts.
When in doubt, ask yourself:
Did I raise my core temperature?
Did I activate the right muscle groups?
Did I mobilize the joints I’ll be using?
Did I get my nervous system and coordination ready for the main event?
If the answer is yes, then congrats – you RAMPed like a pro.
Let’s Break It Down: What Each Phase Looks Like
🔥 Phase 1: RAISE
Goal: Increase your body temperature, heart rate, and respiration.
This is your classic “get moving” moment—but with intention. We're not going for exhaustion here. Just enough to increase blood flow and start waking up your system.
Try 2–5 minutes of:
Light cardio: jump rope, high knees, jog in place
Pole flow: low spins or transitions
Dynamic movement: walking lunges, skipping, bodyweight squats
If you’re cross-training, mimic the movement pattern you're training. For example:
Doing squats? Start with bodyweight squats or a modified ATG Split Squat.
Upper body pull day? Add scapular pull-ups or light band rows.
💪 Phase 2: ACTIVATE
Goal: Fire up the stabilizing muscles and core systems that support your movement.
Pole places high demands on your shoulders, scapula, core, and hip stabilizers. And these muscle groups perform better when you give them a proper wake-up call.
Go-to activation drills include:
Scapular push-ups or wall slides
Dead bugs or bear holds
Glute bridges or lateral band walks
Grip warm-ups or wrist pulses
You don’t need to do a full circuit – just pick a couple moves that compliment what you're training. Two to three focused sets is plenty.
🤸♀️ Phase 3: MOBILIZE
Goal: Move through full joint ranges of motion under control.
This is where we start prepping for skill-specific mobility – but we’re not doing long static stretches. Think active, dynamic, or loaded mobility.
Here’s what that could look like:
Thoracic spine: Cat cows, thread the needle, wall rotations
Shoulders: Band dislocates, arm swings, wall angels
Hips: 90/90 transitions, standing leg swings, lunge + twist
Wrists: Wrist rocks, prayer stretch pulses, knuckle rolls
And yes, some mobility drills also activate the muscles around the joint – which is ideal!
⚡ Phase 4: POTENTIATE
Goal: Prime your nervous system for explosive, coordinated movement.
This is the most often skipped phase, but it’s one of the most important – especially before advanced skills, heavy lifts, or anything requiring speed and control.
Potentiation drills might include:
Pole climbs
Baby ballerina from the floor
Banded pull-aparts
Light or Bodyweight reps of movement you’re training
The key here is to be explosive but not exhausted. A few short sets of low-rep, high-intent movement is all you need.
A Quick Warm-Up for a Pole Ballerina Session
Here’s a super efficient warm-up to prep for a ballerina-focused pole session — especially if you’re working on twisted grip, shoulder engagement, or thoracic rotation.
You’ll still go through each RAMP phase, but with one intentional exercise per phase:
RAISE:
Jog in Place or Mountain Climbers
Gets your heart rate up and literally makes you warm.ACTIVATE:
Scap Push Ups
Fires up your scapular stabilizers and promotes shoulder control.MOBILIZE:
Banded Shoulder External Rotations
Opens up shoulder external rotation, especially important for accessing the twisted grip safely.POTENTIATE:
Banded Kneeling Wall Rotations or Baby Ballerina From Floor
Mimics the actual skill pattern with control, primes your nervous system, and grooves the movement. (This exercise could also be included under mobilize)
Total time? 10-15 minutes. Purposeful, effective, and your body’s prepped to train like a champ.
A Few Warm-Up Mistakes to Avoid
⚠️ Don’t just stretch and go. Passive stretching cold can reduce power output and doesn’t activate the muscles you need. Save static stretches for your cooldown.
⚠️ Don’t skip it because you’re short on time. A good warm-up can take 5 minutes and still make your session more effective and safer.
⚠️ Don’t make it random. Your warm-up should connect to your training goals. Warming up for backbends? Prioritize shoulders, spine, and hip flexors. Doing pull-ups? Get those scapulae and lats awake.
⚠️ Don’t forget your wrists. Pole dancers need strong and mobile wrists. Prep them just like you would your shoulders or hips.
Warm-Up FAQ for Pole Dancers
Q: Can I use the same warm-up every time?
You can have a go-to structure, but ideally, tailor your warm-up based on what you’re training that day. Pole invert day? Focus more on shoulders and core. Strength leg day? Prioritize glutes and hip mobility.
Q: Should I warm up before flexibility sessions?
Absolutely. You still need to raise your temperature, activate muscles, and move through full ranges before getting into deeper positions.
Q: Can pole itself be part of my warm-up?
Yes – with conditions. Pole skills that are very accessible for you and related to the skills you’ll be working on can be part of your warm up. For example, an intermediate or advanced pole dancer could include circus climbs as part of their warm up. A beginner pole dancer may want to stick to bodyweight, bands, light weight, or base-level spins for their warm up. Just be intentional.
Final Thoughts: Warm-Ups Aren’t Just a Box to Check
Think of your warm-up as the launchpad for everything that follows. When you do it right, you’re not only improving your performance today – you’re also building long-term durability and confidence in your body.
You deserve to feel strong, capable, and powerful in your training. So don’t skip the part that sets the tone for all of it.
Train like an athlete. Dance like an artist. And warm up like you give a damn.
P.S. If you want warm-ups planned for you, check out Peak Pole Performance’s done-for-you training programs. Each workout starts with a RAMP-focused warm-up and ends with a feel-good flexibility cooldown to support your progress.