How To Warm Up For a Run? (A 5 Minute Routine To Follow)

Fitness and Endurance do not come so easily, especially if you keep relying on fancy therapy and other training sessions that claim to give you benefit but do not deliver half of it.

One of the best ways to build endurance is running for all athletes. It is not only the appropriate way to impact the speed and flexibility of the body but improve cardiorespiratory health. However, there is one question that we would like to ask all the runners; Do you know how to warm up for a run?

While running, many athletes or people suffer from runner’s injury, which is more common than you think. One of the biggest reasons behind this is the physical stress we put on our legs and the entire body while running miles.

Whether you run as a part of your daily fitness routine or preparing to run a marathon, it is essential to practice a pre-run warm-up. There is no denying that warm-up is considered the best practice for every fitness activity.

Infact, many research studies have shown the effectiveness of warming up with a weighted vest before finally running.

Now running warmup can involve anything that helps your body get in the zone where the chances of injury, muscle loss, or early fatigue are significantly low.

Still, it is surprising to know that at least 70% of runners straight away dive in for a run in the morning or during the after-hours of their work.

Seeing such a high number of runners not feeling it essential to do a pre-run warm-up or not even knowing how to warm up for a run makes us realize the reason to write this blog and let you know why warming up is significant and how to do one.

Keep reading to find all the facts and to-dos so that when you decide to run a mile or more the coming morning, you know where to begin.

How to warm up for a run?

Before we dive into the best warm-up routine you can add before your running or strength training session; you should consider warming up for at least 20 minutes at a stretch.

Remember that do not just practice static stretching; indulge in dynamic stretching. For better flexibility and fewer injuries, let’s give you a few of the best possible stretching-up and pre-run warm-up exercises.

1) The High Knees & Heel Kick Movement

Even when standing in one position, you can be warming up. Most of the time, people consider stretching as the only static warm-up.

However, that does not yield the result you are looking for, and you need to move your body more than just a little stretching. So High knees are one of the best ways to warm up, and here is how you do it:

• Keep your back straight and the core part of the body engaged since it would be mainly involved in the activity.
• Start by performing high knees, jumping, and trying to take your knees up as much as possible.
• Alternate the high knees with heel kicks in between. While you are doing high knee, you perform a heel kick the second time.
• Perform these for a minimum of 45 seconds. It would strengthen your hamstrings and quads, actively involved while running.

2) Hip Rotation Squats

Hips are equally involved while running, and you need to engage them in a running warm-up exercise to see results and stretch the flexors.

So squats with a twist of hip rotation could help you:-

• Stand in a position where your legs are apart from each other at a distance equal to your shoulders.
• Squat down as you would do a regular squat.
• Stand up, lift your knee to your chest and rotate/circle the leg outside, opening the hips.
• Put your feet down and squat again. Now repeat the same circling movement to open your hips with your left leg.
• Repeat this for 45 seconds at the minimum.

3) Mountain Climbers

Mountain climbers are a great way to strengthen your core as it is completely engaged. Since it requires a lot of energy to perform, it helps to improve the torso and work on the legs.

Hence, you do not feel any muscle pull while running. Here is how to do it:-

• Place both your hands on the floor, keep them straight and put the knees down. Your position should look like a dog sitting.
• Keep your head & face lifted to the front.
• Stretch your legs backward in the same position, and balance your body on your hands and heels.
• Now, bring your right leg near the right hand and keep the left leg backward. Again, take back the right leg backward and bring the left leg near to the left hand.
• Keep at it by switching the legs each time. It would look like you are climbing a mountain. Do it a little faster to invest more energy and engage your core.

4) Butt Kick

Butt kick is considered a tremendous cardiovascular health-improving exercise that can increase your heart rate.

If you want to accelerate your strides better as a runner, this would be your critical go-to pre-run warm-up, and here is how you do it:

• Stand in a position where your legs are wider from each other but not your hips.
• Put up your left heel off the floor and take it back to touch your glutes and torso. At the same time, your left hand would move to touch your left shoulder.
• Now put the right leg down, bring the left heel off the floor, and take it back to touch your glute. Take your right hand up to touch your right shoulder.
• Repeat this several times and move a little faster.

5) Seated Hamstring Stretch

Your spine and hips are majorly involved in running, and they require flexibility.

So Seated Hamstring stretch could be a great way of running warm-up. Here is how to do it:-

• Sit down on your exercise/yoga mat, and stretch the left leg outside.
• Bend the right leg in a way that the knee faces upward, and your heels are flat on the floor beside your mid-thigh area.
• Now try to extend your hand and reach towards your left leg ankle. While you do this, keep your back and neck straight.
• When you feel a stretch at the back of the thighs, try holding it for 30-40 seconds.
• Repeat the same process with your right-left.
• Repeat it at least two times.

6) Lunges

If you are looking for leg strengthening exercises, there is nothing better than making lunges in your pre-run warm-up.

It is essential to prevent your chances of injury while running so that your body does not burn out. So here is how you can do it:-

• Stand with your feet and hips-width apart.
• Take one step forward, and it should be longer than one short stride. It should be in a position where one leg is ahead of your torso, and the other is behind you.
• Now bend down both your knees; one should be straight facing forward, and the other knee should be at the rear side touching the ground. It would appear at a 90-degree angle.
• Now, keep your body straight and push yourself forward to change the legs positioning. Your left leg will land to the front and right to the rear, and on the ground.
• Keep the symmetry of your hips in proportion, and your knees in the front should be parallel to the toes.

Final Word

Every athlete or runner needs to know how to warm up for a run because it improves flexibility, enhances strides, reduces the chances of injury, and most importantly, enhances the performance during the run.

So whether you are a beginner trying to reach your 5k run target or a professional marathon runner who had several experiences running 5k or more than that, you should always involve pre-run warm-up in your training routine.