did I actually just enjoy my warm-up??

Right so I've been properly skipping warm-ups basically since I started. Like, just walking in and going straight for it. Four months of that. No idea why I thought that was fine. Anyway my gym buddy (she's been training way longer than me) basically sat me down and said look, just try doing five minutes of actual movement before you lift. Not stretching, like movement. So I did some leg swings, hip circles, a few bodyweight squats just to get stuff moving. And honestly? My squats felt so much less horrible. I mean I don't know if that's placebo or what but I actually managed to go a bit deeper without that tight feeling I always get. The thing I didn't get before is there's a difference between static stretching — holding a stretch — and just moving your joints around before you start. She said static is more for after. I had no idea, I just thought warm-up meant touching your toes for 30 seconds and that being it. To be fair nobody really explains this stuff when you're starting out, you just sort of guess. Still figuring out what works for me tbh. Some days I do a bit more, some days I'm rushing and do barely anything. But even just a couple of minutes of actually moving rather than nothing feels different. Slower start, less creaky. That's the best way I can describe it.