5 Must-Do Warm-Up Exercises For Runners (and Non-Runners)

Warm-up exercises are necessary before doing any strenuous physical activity. It will loosen up your joints, increase blood flow to the muscles, and gradually increase blood circulation and heart rate. In general, a warm-up session will turn your body to be readily prepared and prevent possible injuries from happening. 

Most people tend to start their training with cardio, especially running. However, what if the sport that you’re going to do is running itself? What warm-up exercises should you do? Aside from cardiovascular exercises, stretching and strength drills can be done in a warm-up session. Here are five warm-up routine exercises for both runners and non-runners.  

Piriformis Muscle Stretches

The piriformis muscle plays an important role in hip stability and flexibility. It is a large and deep muscle located under your butt (gluteal) muscles. In stabilizing your hip, piriformis laterally rotates the hip along with the other hip rotators. 

Sports that involve rapid changes of direction, such as basketball and soccer, require strong and flexible joints. Specifically, the proper functioning of the piriformis muscle is needed when doing quick turns, squats, lunges, and side-to-side movements. Hence, the piriformis walk is one of the recommended warm-up exercises before running. 

Here’s how you do it: 

1. Stand and perform a quad stretch, where you draw one foot behind toward your glutes.
2. Hold for 5-10 seconds, then release.
3. Step forward using the same leg.
4. Cradle the opposite leg. Pull your ankle and knee up to your hip.
5. Release, switch legs, and repeat steps 1-4.

Piriformis stretching can aid in easing the symptoms of plantar fasciitis. It’s the inflammation on the bottom of the feet, which is prompted by inappropriate running shoes and a drastic increase in mileage. Hence, it is necessary to prevent or alleviate knee and ankle pain, which are commonly felt by runners. 

Hip Stretches

Good hip flexors allow you to perform fluid running and better mechanics. Among the group of muscles in the hip flexors, you should develop your iliopsoas more. It’s the muscle that aids in pulling and contracting your thighs towards your torso, letting you draw your knee your chest when running. 

The thing is you regularly shorten your iliopsoas every time you run. If this muscle is shorter, your strides will become shorter as well. Worse is shorter iliopsoas can also result in muscle weakness and imbalances, which in turn lead to injuries. In order to avoid this from happening, there’s a need to warm up your hip flexors with hip openers exercises. 

The Runner’s World has listed a few helpful hip stretches that every runner must include in their warm up-routine: 

1. To strengthen hip flexors and glutes, do crescent lunge knee-up and skating squat.
2. To lengthen hip flexors and activate glutes, do legged bridge lift and lower.
3. To stretch glutes and hip joints, do a full-range figure four.
4. To strengthen hips and quads, do low lunge variation.

Arm Circles

There’s a need to improve your arm swings as it dictates your rhythm. A strong set of arms and shoulders can maintain a stable tempo and proper posture. One simple way to strengthen your upper body is through arm circles. 

Here’s how you do it: 

1. Start by standing straight with your feet hip-width apart.
2. Place your arms straight out to your sides.
3. Move your arms in circular forms, either clockwise or counterclockwise. Start with small, controlled motions then draw bigger circles gradually.
4. Do as many as you can until you can feel a stretch in your triceps.

Running involves most of the muscles in your lower body, but that doesn’t mean you’ll neglect your upper body. Improved upper-body strength and flexibility can keep appropriate physical form throughout the training or competition. With maintained proper posture, you can perform at your best or even turn your performance potential better. 

Scorpion

Scorpion twist is a beginner warm-up exercise for your lower back and core, in parallel with mobility, and can hence serve as  strength training too. It alleviates pain and relieves the tension in your mid-back, which are commonly experienced by runners. 

Here’s how you do it: 

1. Lie facedown and place your arms out to your sides. Your body should form a T-position.
2. Rest your chin on the floor to avoid strain on your neck.
3. Point your thumbs up.
4. Swing left leg to your right. Let your left toes reach your hip. Hold this position for 30 seconds.
5. Release, return to the starting position, and repeat the steps with the opposite leg.

Dynamic stretching or mobility exercises should be added to your warm-up routine. These exercises work your muscles through various ranges of motion that are similar to forces executed when you’re running. 

Inchworm

Inchworm is another dynamic exercise that can warm-up your full muscular system. It’s a very effective warm-up too because it can stretch and strengthen various muscle groups at once. Every single movement of it can already increase the stress throughout your body, and thus it can be a part of a high-intensity interval training routine.

Here’s how you do it: 

1. Stand tall with your feet hip-distance apart.
2. Bend forward at the waist, almost touching toes, and walk hands out to a push-up or high plank positions. Hold for a few seconds.
3. Roll up to starting  position then repeat.

Runners consider inchworm as an all-important stretch for their whole posterior chain. Generally, it strengthens your core and arms as well as improve the flexibility in your hamstrings, allowing you to improve your mobility and running performance. 

Pre-workout nutrition

Pre-workout nutrition is necessary to maximize the results of your training. Specifically, glycogen (carbs stored in your body) is crucial for both short- and high-intensity exercise, while fats are for longer and moderate-to-low-intensity training. 

Pre-workout protein is necessary to improve athletic performance as well. There are many protein powders nowadays, but you can try checking bodytech whey protein review. It’s recommended to eat a complete meal with enough carbs, fat, and protein 2-3 hours before exercising. 

Takeaway

Before doing the said warm-up exercises, consider proper pre-workout nutrition as well. Fueling your body with adequate macronutrients before exercising gives you the energy you need to perform and train better.