FIFA 11+. That is not the most memorable name, but you’ll want to keep it on file because according to a new meta-study it may be the best way to warm up before a workout, if you want to reduce the chances of being injured during your workout.

This meta-study looked at how the FIFA 11+, which is a three part warm-up with 15 exercises, reduces injury. It is a fairly intense warm-up and here is what it consists of, according to this site:

Part 1: running exercises at a slow speed combined with active stretching and controlled partner contacts;
Part 2: six set of exercises, focusing on core and leg strength, balance, and plyometrics/agility, each with three levels of increasing difficulty;
Part 3: running exercises at moderate/high speed combined with planting/cutting movements.

Researchers looked at how this affected almost 4,000 people. And, according to this article, what they found was they were “about 40 percent less likely to sustain knee, ankle, hamstring, and hip or groin injuries during the season than athletes who warmed up in other ways.”

We don’t suggest just trying this warm-up without making sure you’re doing it right, because we don’t want you to injure yourself while trying to prevent injury. Note; This FIFA 11+ warm up is actually quite similar to a Cardio High workout. Since we designing workouts for people who may be slightly older than a typical pro soccer player, we start with gentle cat/cow, bird dog, slow speed skaters etc.

The key to any warm-up? After the gentle section of the warm-up, you want to mimic the movements of your sport as much as possible. For soccer you want to practice quick cuts and stops/starts. For squash and tennis you want to make sure you do lateral motion, lunging and torso rotation. For golf; hit the driving range and swing at balls at 50% effort. You may find your accuracy is better than when you shank balls at 100% effort.