Hello all  :)l! It is nice to meet you as a new poster. I  am curious about what those of you who have a defined pre-bowling session stretch or activity list do, and what keys you focus on in the warm-up balls before league or tournament sessions? I am kind of reinventing my game since injury, so am open to any pointers that folks may have. Have a great day!

Welcome to BR....

I've been utilizing a physical routine the last several months to prepare my body and mind before leagues. I'm way out of shape, my mental focus has weakened, and doing the same prep work before I leave work for leagues has helped me greatly.

I trained in Martial Arts (and other sports) for 20 plus years and they way we warm up/stretch is the same way today since I joined in 1983. In high school ball, warm ups/stretches were the same as well. So, I decided to try this for bowling. I'm not sure if it's coincidence, but along with working on my game about the same time I started these routines, my average has gone up by 18 pins from my book.

I am able to post at the line longer and my left quad isn't sore. I don't get cramps on my calves as well. Most importantly, I make sure I drink lots of water and juice that day - beet, kale, carrots, apple and a drop of lemon juice is my favorite. There are others...

My 15 minutes routine consists of basic exercises and stretches (the ones I use for MA) that covers the major and minor muscles that are being used. I also swing an 8 lbs sandbag at work throughout the day similar to the power trainer at eileens bowing products. AND, very importantly, I do meditation during my 5:45 pm scheduled bowel movement hahahaha  yeah I'm regular...

Seriously, I have attention/focus issues and getting into a routine has helped me stay focused on the lanes when needed to. I was programed since I was a kid to follow a routine, from feeding my dads animals at 5pm everyday to packing my backpack for karate practice and walking that mile to the dojo 6 times/days a week.

All those things I did from the chores to kata's were muscle and brain memory training. Train to not think and to react without thinking, and at the same time to remain flexible and adapt to changes. OSU!! (pronounced OSS) hehehe.... bowling is pretty much the same thing.

My warmups consist solely of rolling the ball down the lane. Slowly at first.  For me,
pre-bowl stretching exercises resulted in too many stresses and strains on my joints and
ligaments.  I do work out regularly away from the lanes but on "game day", I put it aside entirely. In addition, too many pre-bowl exercises sapped unecessary strength and endurance that I needed to preserve for the actual bowling itself.

Everybody is different when it comes to pre-bowl warmup routines. 

My warmups consist solely of rolling the ball down the lane. Slowly at first.

I couldn't stress this enough. I agree with Lane and xrayjay on all of the stretching, as that does help immensely (at least for me).

But as far as the first couple of balls, I just concentrate on getting the ball off my hand. I don't try to hit up on it immediately off my first shot; I'm still cold, and my swing isn't loose yet. To that effect, my first ball is always at a 10 pin, with a spare ball.

I don't care about hitting it; I just want to get the swing loose and free. I'll do that 2 or 3 times, then work on the shot. By then, I'm used to the swing, and can work on finding a shot.

For that, I'll try multiple looks at multiple angles. Down and in. Swing in my comfort zone. See how much room I have for wheeling it. Squaring up. If I find that I have more than one line that works, then I'll choose which line feels the most comfortable to me and go. I just have to be careful on if I'm running into someone else's line if I'm under them (read: to the right), and catch the oil they are pushing out to me, causing my ball to limber downlane. Opposite applies as well; if I'm left of them, and I wheel too far out, I could hit their dry spot, burn up energy, and roll out. but by then, that is well past the warm-up period.

BL.