Back to Basics: Dynamic Warm Up for Runners

A question that I receive frequently is “What should I be doing for a warm up?” Many of us are racing out the door, trying to squeeze in a run before work or before the sun sets, and warm-up and cool-down can become a bit of an after-thought in these cases.

Warming up is important because it prepares the body – the heart, muscles, tendons, and more – for the work that it needs to do. A dynamic warm up where you are activating the muscles and moving through ranges of motion, as opposed to a static stretch where you hold a posture for a period, has been shown to be better for injury prevention and performance. When I am warming up, I like to think about key muscle groups that I will need to use while running and try to increase my heartrate so that there is not a large jump from resting to running heart rate. This becomes even more important when it is colder out.

Here is a simple warm up that you can do in 5 minutes

1. Squats – bodyweight squats to start elevating your heart rate and getting your leg and core muscles working (2 x 10)

   
   

2.    Lateral Lunge to Knee Drive – step out to the side into a lunge and then stand back up with the knee in a marching position. This activates the lateral glutes and hip stabilizers that are important for pelvic stability while running, and dynamically stretches the adductors (2 x 10)

3.        Forward Lunge – step forward, letting your front knee go over your toes. This loads more of the quadriceps muscles and is especially good to do if you will be running down hills. It also dynamically stretches the back leg’s hip flexor (2 x 10)

4.        Calf Raise Off a Step– lift and lower the heels from the ground, controlling the movement especially on the way down. This activates the calf muscles and dynamically stretches the Achilles Tendon (2 x 10)

5.        Heart Rate Elevating Exercises – choose exercises like high knees, butt kicks, hopping, or bounding, to start incorporating more explosive movements. These will further elevate your heart rate and prepare the tendons for the elastic loading qualities that are needed for running (3 x 30 seconds)

This sequence can be modified based on your running needs, specific areas that feel tight, or body parts where you’ve had injuries prior. Just remember to keep it simple and short to make it easy to consistently do before your runs!

Thanks for reading!

Happy Running,

Dr. Elizabeth Karr PT, DPT