Don't run cold 🥶 warm up 👍

Probably moreso during these colder months, but still relevant even when that sun's blazing 😎,

DON'T FORGET OR FOREGO THAT WARM-UP!

A proper pre-run routine is going to make all the difference between dreading your run, or loving it!

Yes it's easy ( I may have been guilty in the past myself) trainers on ready to go you're off!!! But don't, it's a recipe of disasters, setting off at full speed combined with cold tight muscles fresh from the armchair OUCH... The risk of pulling a muscle, tweaking that tendon, worse still a bone or joint, or just hitting a pace you'll never sustain.

The easiest warm up, we all do it couch to five k actually use it freely, WALKING!

It's more than just a walk, it's a low intensity activity, it eases your body from sitting mode into workout mode. Walking actually uses all those muscles, joints and tendons that you're going to use for your running, its just walking uses them gently 👍, hence the perfect way to warm up.

In addition as you progress, even as a graduate or beyond DYNAMIC STRETCHES are a brilliant way to warm those muscles pre run, they'll increase your heart rate, warm up the body's temperature ready for exercise and it'll get that blood flowing, all this will help you run more efficiently!

A HEALTHY RUNNER IS A WARMED UP RUNNER!

runnersworld.com/training/g...

And for those calves which are so often problematic ⏬

runnersworld.com/health-inj...

For those illiotibial band (ITB) this is the thick cord of muscle that runs down the outside of the thigh to the knee.

prevention.com/fitness/work...

And a further snippet of stretching information and yes 👍 another link. Prefab stretches to work alongside your runs and rests

runnersworld.com/uk/trainin...

[9weeks2Run Graduate]

That’s brilliant, thank you

[Cakerunner Graduate]

Love this reminder, thank you! I'm due to graduate this week (second time, after illness and re starts😁) and I've found that a combination of yoga stretching, and dance works well to warm up also......I do this in the house, not in the street hahaI did post on here once, about me dancing around the house, headphones on.....really getting in the zone ( think Flash dance, but with far less elegance!🤣) and I turned and saw my young adult son, standing on the bottom stair......well the look on his face! 🤣🤣🤣 I didn't care, once nice and warm, I trotted off out the front door.......leaving him to stand there wondering if his mother had finally lost all of her marbles!!!🤣🤣

[Hidden in reply to Cakerunner]

Thanks Soniabrown 🙂

That dancing mum vid sounds like a classic 😂

[Frenc Graduate]

Thank you for this very useful post! I was the person who, in the summer, would dash out of my front door at full speed as though I’d stolen something. Needless to say, I didn’t stick with it. But the C25K has def sorted that out. 👍

[Hidden in reply to Frenc]

Well done Frenc, definitely no point sprinting 👍

[LesleyLiv Graduate]

I felt it big time when I got a bit over confident and minimised the warm up walk....... managed the run but it hurt! I always do the 5 minutes now. Loving this running malarkey! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️😃😃

[Hidden in reply to LesleyLiv]

Ah that over confidence LesleyLiv it bites you 😬 That 5minute walk is like gold dust 👍

[GailXrunning Graduate]

👍👍👍 Total devotee of the warmup - both the pre-run walk + the dynamic exercises before leaving the house. It’s so tempting to skip - when short of time or, as recently, when anxious to beat the lockdown crowds to the park. But I’ve learned it is key to making runs enjoyable, and the challenges of running more manageable. Gets blood circulating into all the muscles beforehand (inc. the brain), whether by dancing, by jigging, by gorilla squats (etc), or by foam-rolling ... or any combo. I may be lucky, but I very rarely experience the toxic ten; I think though it’s mostly down to the warmup ritual.

[Hidden in reply to GailXrunning]

Well done GailXrunning you're spot on 👍👍

[RacingintheStreet Graduate]

Really useful post thanks . It’s particularly relevant in this cold weather .I’m still nursing my calf strain after a cold late afternoon run a few weeks ago . I had let the the house go a bit cold as I sat reading and then did a ‘quick’ warm up before heading out . Clearly my muscles were colder than usual so a ‘quick warm up’ didn’t cut it .

All my usual exercise workouts get done early morning and I usually run after that .

That day I didn’t go out in the morning ( too icy , didn’t want injure myself 🙄🙄)

I think that was the reason anyway .

Thanks for the links you sent in reply to my post about it 👍 Hidden . I am using them .

I went back to your own previous posts re calf injury too and notice you got some calf sleeves , worth it do you think ?

[Hidden in reply to RacingintheStreet]

Brilliant RacingintheStreet I'm glad the links are useful for you 👍 .

Those calf sleeves they definitely do help, they reduce the stresses and fatigue impact that running causes simply do to the repetitive muscle use.

You do have to get the correct size though, much similar to compression stockings for medical use, a size too small would be likely to be harmful after a while!

[RacingintheStreet Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Great 👍 thanks .

Might give them a go ( and measure carefully 👌)