What does your pre-run warm up routine look like? Maybe a few half hearted knee raises and a couple of leg swings while you wait for your GPS to get a signal? We get it. No one wants to waste time with an elaborate warm up BEFORE a training run, especially if you are squeezed for time. But by skipping the warm up, you are missing out on physiological and psychological benefits that will make your training run feel better and be more productive. Keep reading to find out how a warm up benefits your run AND our easy, five minute routine you can do before your next run.

Can’t I Just Start With A Slow Jog?

We’re all time crunched, and just want to get straight to our training. So why SHOULD we warm up? The purpose of a warm up is to prepare the body for harder exercise. So why can’t we just warm up with slower running? While it’s definitely good to ease into your running pace, an actual warm up that takes your body through different ranges of motions and dynamic movements can give you better muscular, neuromuscular, and even mental benefits.

Prepare The Muscles for Action

Taking a few minutes to warm up before your run will prepare your body for more strenuous activity by warming up muscles and tendons, increase range of motion, and help prevent injury. When you start with easy movement, you will gradually increase your body temperature, making the muscle tissues more elastic. This elevated body temperature also helps muscles contract better and more efficiently. Plus, the increased temperature also increases blood flow to the working muscles which help bring in more oxygen and nutrients. And by preparing the muscles and tendons before ramping up intensity, you help prevent damage to the muscle and connective tissue fibers.

Activating The Tissues

You may have heard the term “Activating The Muscles”, but what does that mean? By engaging certain muscles before training (say from a dynamic movement), you are building the neuromuscular mind and muscle connection. By strengthening and “waking up” this connection, the muscles will contract faster and more efficiently. By taking a few minutes to activate the muscles, you will have better muscle contractions, more efficient movement, and increase strength and power.

Mind Over Matter

Even the most dedicated runner can sometimes lack the motivation to lace up their shoes and get out the door. By taking your body through an easy, routine warm up, you can help prepare your mind for your upcoming training run. Sometimes the struggle is just your body transitioning from rest to activity (especially for us early morning runners). By starting small with a few easy movements, you slowly wake up your mind to transition into an active mode. It also allows you time to check in with your body, and see if any areas of tightness need to be addressed. By consistently doing the same warm up before every run, you will create a habit that signals to your mind that your body is ready for training. This can be very helpful on days when you aren’t as motivated to train.

The Five Minute Warm Up You Need

Now that you know the benefits a warm up can do for your training, here’s your simple, five minute warm up routine (with a breakdown of each movement) that you can do before your next run:

• Side to Side Lunge
• Hamstring Scoops
• Tip Toe Walk
• Dynamic Leg Swings
• Light Skipping
• A-Skips

Side-to-Side Lunge: This warms up and increases range of motion in the hips, hamstrings, quads, and ankles. Stand with feet wide and toes pointed forward or slightly outward. Shift your weight towards one side as you bend the knee and hinge at the hip to sit backward into a side lunge position. Return to the center, then repeat to the other side. Continue switching back and forth between sides for 30 seconds.

Hamstring Scoops: This is a dynamic stretch for the hamstrings, glutes, and low back. Take one leg forward with the foot flexed and pointing up. Gently reach forward towards the toes and sweep hands to return to standing. Repeat legs for 30 seconds.

Tip Toe Walking: Warms up and stretches the muscles and tendons in the feet and ankles. Raise up onto your tip toes, then walk forward, maintaining the tip toe position. Repeat for 30 seconds.

Dynamic Leg Swings: A dynamic stretch for hamstrings and hips. Holding onto a wall or fence, stand on one leg and gently swing the other leg forward and backward in one motion. Continue for 15 seconds, then repeat legs. Next, switch to a side motion, by swinging the working leg outward from the hip, and inward, crossing in front of the standing leg. Continue for 15 seconds, then switch legs.

Light skipping: This is very easy skipping to warm up the feet, ankles, and knees. Skip forward for 30 seconds very easy. Keep the movements small to focus on the feet and ankles. Continue for 30 seconds.

A-Skips: A skips are a more exaggerated version of skipping that help dynamically warm up the hip flexors, knees, glutes, and hamstrings. Following a skipping motion, drive each knee higher, aiming to be at least parallel to the hip. Continue for 30 seconds.

With the amount of time that we, as runners, devote to our running training towards our goals, adding a few minutes before every run will help pay dividends over time. By performing a simple, but effective, warm up, we can increase our enjoyment AND performance on every run. And if you are looking for how to recover AFTER your run, check out our article on How To Recover The Right Way After Your Run.

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