Things are warming up

Warming Up...

The weather here in DC is downright spring-like. At least for a day or two. People are outside soaking up the vitamin D, and the blooming redbuds too. To follow up on the last post of gently getting back into run training for the Cherry Blossom 10 miler, let's talk about warming up for runs.

It's worth starting with a simple question: why warm up? Traditionally people have looked at a warm-up as an opportunity to prepare the body to perform. To achieve this goal we are going to look at our warm-up as a means to gently increase the heart rate which increases blood flow, and temperature of the involved muscles. It makes sense that a set of warm muscles will facilitate improved range of motion and flexibility, both of which are important for running. Liken it to starting your car on a cold day. If you want to see the engine perform without sputtering, better to let the core temperature come up before stomping on the gas pedal.

Another goal of a warm-up would be to make it sport specific. For running, we want most of our focus on the legs. I would suggest getting into a routine of body weight movements to encourage muscle getting warm, but also joints moving through a full range, and tissues moving freely.


Some basic movements which could be couple together to represent a warm up for running include:

*Squatting- Keep the hips back such that the shin stays close to perpendiculuar to the ground. This keeps the glutes active during the movement. Also, be mindful the knees do not drift togther throughout the range

*Lunging- This is perfect for running as we get one leg moving forward, and the other one back, which is essentially running. Just like with the squat, be mindful of posture- don't lean forward excessively, or let the knees drift inward towards midline. Also be sure to move the opposite arm forward which mimics natural patterns of movement. You can also lunge to the right and left to get the lateral glutes going!

*Marching/high knees- A great way to get the hip flexors going which is a key part of propulsion. Think of this a an exaggerated march where the knee is coming above the waistline. Also use this as a balance drill by moving slowly and forcing single leg control. Remember that you should feel the glute engaged on the leg you are standing on!

*Leg swings- This is just gently swinging the leg forward and back like a pendulum. Focus on moving through the hip. The lower back should not move during this motion. You can also do swings moving across the body left and right (think 9 o'clock to 3)

*Butt kicks- This gets close to actually jogging in place where you are actively pulling the heel up towards your bottom. This engages the hamstring which tends to be very active in normal running.

*Heel raises- A perfect way to get the calf, and achilles warm. A very easy means of avoiding strain to these critical areas of the leg.

*Skipping- Remind you of your school days? It should! Think of it as bounding from one high knee to the next. It is one to do at the end after you are already warm.

Each of the above could be done for 30-45 seconds, which would bring you to a focused 5 minutes of a warm up. If you are doing an easier run, you could head straight into it. If you are doing a focused workout, probably best to go from the above into some easy jogging where you could gently cut down your pace to task the legs a bit more before pushing into your workout.


Of course, after you warm up , and do your training run, next comes the cool down. Let's discuss a focused cool down next time, including common stretches for the legs.