Have questions about workplace stretching and warm-up programs? You’re not alone. In this article, we’ll share answers to the most frequently asked workplace stretching questions.

Q: How much time will it take?

A: We believe that an effective warm-up of your team members can be accomplished in 5-7 minutes in most situations. Remember, this is a warm-up program and not a total fitness program.  So, we don’t need to spend 3 minutes on each dynamic exercise or use 30 second holding times for static stretching exercises.

Q: Should the warm-up program be considered a required part of the job?

A: This is obviously your call, but you ask for our opinion. We believe that a properly designed program allows team members to prepare their movement system for physical work demands, and protects them from potential strain and injury to the musculoskeletal system.

A question for you – do you require employees to wear appropriate PPE to prevent injuries from potential workplace hazards? Sure you do, because PPE (personal protective equipment) prevents potential injuries. We would encourage you to consider your Work Readiness System a form of PPE, or maybe we could call it PPEx (Personal Protective Exercise). In our view, PPEx should be required with very few exceptions. The programs that we would consider best practice all view warm-up and work readiness as an important and required aspect of the job.

Q: Is there a risk of injury to any team member from performing pre-shift stretching exercises?

A: Yes, there’s potential risk for some team members if proper precautions are not taken when designing and implementing a program. That’s why we strongly recommend implementing a complete and proven system designed by a workplace injury prevention specialist – a Work Readiness System. This is not a program that you just throw together on a whim in a day or two. The program design should keep lower functional capacity team members in mind. (For example, ballistic and high impact exercises should never be included your program.) Leadership and team member training is also critically important. Proper training will ensure that risk is abated.

Q: How should we respond if a team member claims that an exercise is causing discomfort or they “can’t perform one or more warm-up exercises”?

A: First, respond with care and compassion for any team member concern. Next, review the training concepts regarding safe techniques for proper warm-up exercise execution. Team members should be reminded that each exercise is performed at a low level of intensity and under their own control. They alone control the range of motion and intensity of the exercise. So if discomfort is felt at any point, they need to lower the intensity of the exercise.

In most cases team members can continue to perform each exercise, decreasing range of motion and intensity to eliminate any discomfort. If the problem persists, an alternate exercise should be recommended so they aren’t standing idle while other team members are performing.

Q: Will this program really be accepted by our team members?

A: We get this question all the time. Although we almost always see initial skepticism and even some resistance from the vocal minority, 25 years of experience has taught us that a good Work Readiness System will be accepted and appreciated by the vast majority of team members. Our 90 day survey asks team members if they feel the pre-shift warm-up stretching program is effective in preparing their body for work.

Can you guess what the average response is? It’s 95% yes responses! Don’t let the negative and vocal few discourage you. As long as your leadership is committed and a proven system is used with a passion for injury prevention, your team members will love it and appreciate that you invest the time for their benefit. It’s imperative that you emphasize that your program is designed by an athletic trainer and workplace injury prevention specialist with 25+ years of experience. This gives your program immediate credibility. If however, your warm-up stretching program was designed by someone in the shipping department who once played football, credibility of the program will no doubt be questioned and acceptance will be undermined.

Q: Will team members treat this program seriously?

A: Yes. If leadership treats the program seriously, team members will treat it seriously. As you know, there are class clowns in almost every group that can attempt to poke fun at others and undermine the program. Do NOT allow this to happen. This is a management issue that must be managed without hesitation.

Above all else, passion and enthusiasm and perseverance wins. In companies where the leadership is passionate about health and safety are the companies where we see the most success with workplace stretching and the overall MSD prevention process.