How to warm up for a run session

Warming up for any sort of training is important.

The warm up is often neglected as part of training, but done well it can really add value and help you get more from your session – and it doesn’t have to take you long either.

The harder or faster your run is going to be, the more important that your warm up becomes! This is not only because you need to ensure blood flow and mobility – but it will allow you to apply more power to the ground and therefore generate more speed.

We can essentially split a warm up into two parts – gentle “aerobic” movements; things that will increase your heart rate, and dynamic stretching.

 

Aerobic exercise

This could be easy jogging, cycling, skipping or even walking. Basically just getting you moving. For most athletes, if they do any sort of warming up, this is probably what they do to some extent: doing the first mile or two of any run slower/easier.

With doing an easy jog warm up however, the majority of people don’t go easy enough; the key is to be moving at a pace you can comfortably hold a conversation at! Don’t just rush on through.

Sitting on a static bike/turbo trainer, or skipping on the spot is a great way to get the blood flowing without leaving the house – which when it is cold, can be a good compromise!

Dynamic Stretching

Stretching gets a bad rap. What the vast majority of us would tend to do is static stretching – standing in place and holding a particular move for 10-30 seconds. It feels good, it feels like it’s doing something for us, but it’s been demonised somewhat in recent times. While it may not be the most useful before a run, this may be perfect for afterwards.

Once we have done our aerobic warm up, what we really want to do is some dynamic stretching. This may include some “almost” static stretches, where you move into a position but only hold for a second and rebound out. Here are some examples:

 

Leg swings:

forward and backward, and side to side – standing on one leg (holding something for stability), standing up tall, swing your leg backward and forward from the hip. As you swing through in each direction, keep your trunk and hips still – this is not about flexing your lower back (as mentioned earlier, the warm up is about proprioception and getting your brain switched on – we want good posture when we run!). Similarly, swinging your leg side to side across your body, take your leg/foot as far across in each direction as you can, smoothly and easily. As part of a warm up, 15-20 swings on each leg is plenty.

Hip opener:

From standing, bend right knee and lift knee to hip level, then rotate the knee out to 90 degrees. (Place hand over knee to stabilize and guide if needed.) Bring leg back to front; lower foot, and switch sides. Repeat for 5-10 times on each leg.

Quad/pirformis walk:

Start standing then draw left foot up behind you, pulling toward your butt for a quad stretch. Release and step forward; switch legs. Then cradle right leg at ankle and knee, pulling your shin up to chest. Release and step forward; switch legs. Hold each position for 2-3s at a time, repeat 5-10 times on each leg.

Frankenstein Walk:

Start standing with feet together. Extend right leg straight out in front of you as you bring left hand to tap right toes. Lower leg and step forward; repeat on opposite side. Continue for 10-15 reps on each leg.

 

As a warm up, 3-5 mins of easy movement and 3-5 mins of dynamic stretching is plenty. Obviously if you’re planning on a harder set or session, you might increase the length of time of either/both accordingly. You may even include some drills like skips or bounding etc to increase your proprioception around pushing off the ground faster – but these would certainly be add ons.

Try it out next time you go for a run! Remember, your warm up doesn’t need to be overly long, but getting something done might just improve the quality of your training session.