Don't run cold ๐Ÿฅถ warm up ๐Ÿ‘: Probably moreso... - Couch to 5K

Couch to 5K

132,410 members โ€ข 158,563 posts

Don't run cold ๐Ÿฅถ warm up ๐Ÿ‘

โ€ข12 Replies

Probably moreso during these colder months, but still relevant even when that sun's blazing ๐Ÿ˜Ž,

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 ๐Ÿ‘, 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 โฌ

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 ๐Ÿ‘ another link. Prefab stretches to work alongside your runs and rests

runnersworld.com/uk/trainin...

12 Replies
โ€ข
9weeks2Run profile image
9weeks2RunGraduate

Thatโ€™s brilliant, thank you

Cakerunner profile image
CakerunnerGraduate

Love this reminder, thank you! I'm due to graduate this week (second time, after illness and re starts๐Ÿ˜) 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!๐Ÿคฃ) and I turned and saw my young adult son, standing on the bottom stair......well the look on his face! ๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿคฃ 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!!!๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿคฃ

in reply to Cakerunner

Thanks Soniabrown ๐Ÿ™‚

That dancing mum vid sounds like a classic ๐Ÿ˜‚

Frenc profile image
FrencGraduate

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 Iโ€™d stolen something. Needless to say, I didnโ€™t stick with it. But the C25K has def sorted that out. ๐Ÿ‘

in reply to Frenc

Well done Frenc, definitely no point sprinting ๐Ÿ‘

LesleyLiv profile image
LesleyLivGraduate

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! ๐Ÿƒโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿƒโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿ˜ƒ๐Ÿ˜ƒ

in reply to LesleyLiv

Ah that over confidence LesleyLiv it bites you ๐Ÿ˜ฌ That 5minute walk is like gold dust ๐Ÿ‘

GailXrunning profile image
GailXrunningGraduate

๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘ Total devotee of the warmup - both the pre-run walk + the dynamic exercises before leaving the house. Itโ€™s so tempting to skip - when short of time or, as recently, when anxious to beat the lockdown crowds to the park. But Iโ€™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 itโ€™s mostly down to the warmup ritual.

in reply to GailXrunning

Well done GailXrunning you're spot on ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘

RacingintheStreet profile image
RacingintheStreetGraduate

Really useful post thanks . Itโ€™s particularly relevant in this cold weather .Iโ€™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 โ€˜quickโ€™ warm up before heading out . Clearly my muscles were colder than usual so a โ€˜quick warm upโ€™ didnโ€™t cut it .

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

That day I didnโ€™t go out in the morning ( too icy , didnโ€™t want injure myself ๐Ÿ™„๐Ÿ™„)

I think that was the reason anyway .

Thanks for the links you sent in reply to my post about it ๐Ÿ‘ 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 ?

in reply to RacingintheStreet

Brilliant RacingintheStreet I'm glad the links are useful for you ๐Ÿ‘ .

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 profile image
RacingintheStreetGraduate in reply to

Great ๐Ÿ‘ thanks .

Might give them a go ( and measure carefully ๐Ÿ‘Œ)

You may also like...

Confused about warm up / stretches

thigh muscles on both sides ๐Ÿ˜ฎ I just did the 5 minute walk either side of the runs (jogs!) to warm...

Week 9 Run 3 - Warm up run

hurdle but rather this was a warm up run for the main event which Iโ€™ll run on Sunday at 7am before...

I don't do running in the cold --

Hydration and warm ups

in the night LMAO. Also, my \\"warm up\\" walks after my dynamic stretches had reduced from 5...

Warming up/stretching

always walking uphill to start off). Do you all just use the 5 minute warm up on the podcast as...