Activation Exercises Are Optional Warm-Ups, Not Required

Activation exercises are not necessary, but they can be useful

So-called "activation" exercises at the start of a workout are not required to make your muscles work correctly. The common idea that muscles like your glutes "forget" how to fire is a myth, as physical therapist Tyler Detmer has explained.

These exercises are better understood as a specific type of warm-up. They fall in the middle of a spectrum between general warm-ups, like jogging, and highly specific ones, like doing lighter versions of your main lift.

When well-designed, they can prepare you for your workout. However, their utility depends entirely on context. Here’s when they help and when they don't.

They help you learn what a working muscle feels like

For isolation exercises, it's useful to know the sensation of properly engaging a target muscle. If you're trying to build your glutes, for example, you need to recognize what it feels like when they are doing the work.

Activation exercises are movements that are difficult to perform without using the intended muscle. By doing them, you learn the associated sensations—like a burning fatigue or the "pump" of increased blood flow.

This learned feeling can then help you focus on and engage that muscle more effectively during your primary exercises, like squats or hip thrusts.

They are disguised extra workout volume

Muscle growth is driven by total training volume, measured in challenging sets. Activation exercises, if done with sufficient intensity, contribute directly to this volume.

Consider two people training glutes. One does three sets of banded walks and glute bridges before three sets of hip thrusts. The other only does the hip thrusts. The first person has done more total work for the muscle.

For this to be true, the activation work must be challenging. The key factors are:

• Intensity: The sets should be performed at or near muscular failure.
• Load: They should not be light, easy movements you just go through.
• Specificity: They must directly work the target muscle group.

Light, non-fatiguing movements do not add meaningful volume.

They are optional, not essential

While activation exercises can be helpful, they are never mandatory. You do not need to "feel" a muscle working for it to get stronger, and you can add extra volume at any point in your session.

If you don't do them, ensure you have another effective warm-up strategy tailored to your body and your workout's demands. A proper warm-up is about preparing you specifically.

If a trusted trainer prescribes them or you find ones you like, they are safe to include. They provide extra work and may help you feel physically and mentally ready for your main training blocks.