A Physiotherapist’s Guide to Warming Up Before Running
Running is an incredibly common form of exercise! There’s nothing quite like the freedom of throwing on your runners and heading outside. We thought we’d share some tips on how to properly warm-up before kicking it into high gear.
Proper warm-up
Before we dive into this, we want to teach you two terms:
Running economy: measures the energy you use when running at moderate to maximal intensity.
Plyometric training: utilizes the stretch-shortening cycle whereby a stretch of the muscle is immediately followed by rapid muscle action. For example, walking while kicking and touching alternate toes is a plyometric exercise for your hamstrings.
Why are these terms important? A recent research article by ChenGuang Wei, Liang Yu, Benedict Duncan and Andrew Renfree from the School of Sport Science at the Beijing Sport University and the School of Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Worcester examined the effects of different warm-up protocols (including plyometric and resistance warm-ups) on running economy in the recreationally active participant.
The research showed that warm-ups that include plyometric exercises can improve running economy in healthy adults.
How can you include plyometric exercises in your warm-up?
Try including these three exercises before running:
2 × 8 squat jumps
2 × 8 scissor jumps
2 × 8 walking single leg skips (think about driving your non-standing leg towards your chest)
Take 20-30 seconds in between each set to rest.