Warming Up Before A Run

Not many do it. Do you need to warm up before a run?

Throughout your running career you'll hear all the time about the need to warm up before a run. But what does it really mean and what's involved? Too many people get it wrong and it can cause havoc with your training regime if you do. Get it right and it will make all the difference and keep you injury free for much longer.

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What is it?

A warm up is a short period of exercise activity before you get into your main run. Do you often find it takes you a few minutes to really get going when you start your run and that the first mile or so feels much tougher than what follows? That could well be because you aren't warming up. We'll cover what the warm up should include, but in general it's a combination of dynamic stretching and gentle slow paced running, designed to get your mind and body ready for what's to come. If you don't do it there are many potential issues and if you do incorporate it you'll see lots and lots of benefits.

Why do it?

• Gets you mentally prepared

  
  

It can be tough at times getting ready for a run. Some days it is much easier than others, but on the days when it's not as easy the warm up period can help you mentally prepare. Going from sitting watching TV to getting out the door on a cold night for a warm can be made easier by warming up.

• Gets your body prepared

  
  

Generally speaking before a run your muscles are cold and when they are cold they won't perform to the same degree as when they are warmed up. It's all about getting the blood to flow to your muscles by increasing your heart rate and making them more elastic as a result. You need them to stretch better and this is what the warm up helps to achieve. Raising your heart rate improves your overall cardiovascular system and you'll perform better as a result.

• Reduces your chances of injury

  
  

This improvement in muscle elasticity will also play a major role in helping you fight injury. You will be more agile and combined with greater muscle flexibility there is a lower chance of getting injured. If you don't warm up (and this applies to all sports, not just running), you'll be liable to get cramps, and muscle pulls that could result in significant down time.

How do you do it?

Go to any running club or any event and before everyone starts running you'll see a lot of them stretching. Chances are they will be doing static stretches, where they are stationary. This is very, very wrong! Never stretch cold muscles. Before you do any static stretches you need to warm up your muscles; if you don't there is a real chance that you will get injured. Static stretches are for after your run. The stretches that you should do are called dynamic stretches and there are lots of options. These are some of our favorites:

• Leg Swings

  
  

There are two options, Front to Back and Side to Side. The Front to Back stretch opens up hip flexor and hamstrings for a better range of motion (hips need to be level and the back straight, with no lean forward or backward). Balance on one leg and swing the other leg 15 – 20 times and then change legs. The Side to Side option warms up adductor and abductor muscles of the inner thighs. Retain the same upright posture and this time balance on one leg while swinging the other one side to side.

• Lunges

  
  

Lunges are a great way to activate your glutes and warm up all of your leg muscles. There are three main types that all your leg muscles get a good dynamic stretch.

Get started with front lunges. Take a big step forward, making sure your front knee doesn’t go over your toe. Then, try to get your back leg as close to the ground as possible. You need to get both legs bent at a 90-degree angle. Try five reps on each leg initially and more if you feel comfortable. Backward lunges are very similar to forward lunges. Instead of taking a big step forward, take a big step backward, keeping the same perfect form, and repeating five times on each leg.

Side lunges are where you stand with your feet wider than hip-width and bend one leg, making sure your knee doesn’t go past your toes. Keep the other leg straight as you bend to the side of your bent leg. Repeat on each leg five times.

• March on the spot

  
  

This one is nice and easy. Quickly walk up and down on the same spot for around 3 or 4 minutes.

• Knee lifts

Another easy one. Try to bring one knee up for around 30 seconds to touch the other hand and then switch and do the other knee. Your back needs to be nice and straight and with a slight bend in the other leg. Aim for an upright posture.

Remember that static stretches are for the cooling down period after a run, not before a run, when the focus is on dynamic stretching

Five or six minutes is enough for the dynamic stretches and then it is some relaxed easy running. Don't just stretch and run at your normal pace. Take it easy and build it up slowly. Ideally this will be around half your normal speed and at this point you can check out your running form, making sure your arms and in the right position, head is nice and upright and the heel to toe action is perfect. You should do the same when you're running an event. Developing a warming up routine that works for you is not just about your training runs, it's also essential for race day. Many runners forget everything they have learnt on their training runs when they get to the event weekend. There is so much to think about that many things are forgotten. Race day might be the furthest you've ever run so it's even more important then to make sure everything about your warming up routine and your running form is perfect. And of course at the end you need to cool down properly and you can find out more about that here.