There needs to be more clarity over warm-ups as there is only a little conclusive research depending on your bias. But I’ll discuss what we know and what I believe to be correct based on my experience.

• Foam rolling – depending on your bias, you’ll find evidence on either side of the argument. I believe it’s not a long-term fix and will not make lasting changes. But, if you enjoy it and feel it works, then 100% keep it in, but if you need more clarification on it, I probably wouldn’t bother.
• Static stretching – if you hold for a long duration (over 60 seconds) and perform it directly before your exercise, you will likely notice a performance drop. It’s good for increasing the range of motion at a specific joint. If you know you are tight in a particular area, you need that range in the session. 
• Dynamic stretching – this is well-supported in the research; performing dynamic stretches has been shown to improve performance and mitigate the issues with static stretching. I suggest EVERYONE should have dynamic stretching in their workout. Dynamic stretching is a broad term, but any exercise that actively takes you through movements without long holds fits this.
• Cardio warm-ups – if you like to do these, or you are performing cardio first in the session. Then yes, of course, you can do this. But if you are smart and do a good 5-10 mins of dynamic stretches, your heart rate will already be elevated, making this unnecessary. 
• Activation exercise – this is a really grey area. I’ve seen one study showing some favourable results, but personally, the industry has gone overboard on this topic. For most people, it’s not relevant outside of a rehab setting. But, again, if you like it, then, by all means, continue.
• Warm-up sets – I 100% recommend doing them, which would be the bare minimum I’d suggest doing. You only need to do these on the first 1-2 exercises and perform 1-4 warm-up sets. Note: the heavier you intend to lift, the more warm-up sets you should do to “ramp” up the weight.

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