International Expert Consensus on Warm-Up Protocols for Athletes: A Delphi Study

To present the first international consensus on warm-up in sport.

Twenty-three experts from 12 countries worldwide participated in a 3-round Delphi process, including an online open asynchronous discussion. A total of 122 initial statements were evaluated across 4 domains: (1) definitions and nomenclature; (2) objectives and structure; (3) exercises, performance enhancement, and mechanisms; and (4) health and injury prevention.

Consensus (≥80% agreement) was achieved for 72 statements (60%). The panel defined the warm-up as a structured and purposeful preparatory intervention aimed at optimizing physiological responses and readiness in both training and competitive settings with a combination of both active and passive strategies. Experts identified a 3-layer model comprising general and specific exercises and conditioning activities, with the latter being voluntary contractions of sufficient volume and intensity to induce postactivation performance enhancement. Athletes' readiness and fatigue can be monitored during warm-up protocols with different tools. The comprehensiveness of a warm-up protocol is a key factor associated with its effectiveness. Warm-ups were recognized as context- and sport-dependent, integrating diverse goals depending on the sport's contextual factors and individual characteristics. While inclusion of some type of exercises in the warm-up may reduce long-term injury risk, as in other periods of the training session, there is no support for acute injury protection.

This consensus confirms that warm-ups are structured, multifactorial interventions integrating active and passive components to enhance readiness for training and competition. This framework serves to inform research design and effective evidence-informed warm-up strategies across sports disciplines.