Warm up and Cool down walks post graduation

[BlackCountryLee]

Quick question for those on here that have been graduates for a while. How many still do the 5 minute walks at the start and end of a run? I’ve read conflicting advice elsewhere on whether this is a habit that you should keep up with a lot saying a slow gentle jog for a similar period has the same benefits. For the record I’m still doing the walking but would be interested to get the opinion of others.

[SueAppleRun Graduate]

Everyone is different, lots depends on age and running fitness, I'd definitely err on the side of caution and do the warm up and cool down walks, especially when the weather is chilly, cold muscles injure more easily. And what's 5 minutes anyway? To take a deep breath, look around you, smile? No time at all really to have a more comfortable run

[Instructor57 Graduate]

I personally always do them.

A slow gentle jog would normally be the majority of my runs anyway.

I would always prefer to let the muscles and ligaments warm up and cool down gradually rather than just stop.

And as SueAppleRun has rightly said, even more important in colder weather .

[Curlygurly2 Graduate]

I normally do, not least because I have a lot of roads to cross before I can get to where I can run, seems to make sense.. you could always do some dynamic stretches and marching on the spot at home if you prefer to run from the door, but you need to warm up in some way.

[BlackCountryLee Graduate in reply to Curlygurly2]

I do the marching before I leave too 😀. Still following the dynamic stretches on the NHS site that Tim directed me to

[Curlygurly2 Graduate in reply to BlackCountryLee]

That's grand, you'll take Tim on your runs with you xx

[MissUnderstanding Administrator On a break Graduate]

I always do them. As I’ve got more experienced, I’ve actually found them more valuable because I can think about my plans and aims for the run that day, sort out all my tech and do some dynamic stretches/warm up moves along the way. The only time I don’t is if the weather is absolutely horrible and I warm up indoors instead. That’s very rare though.

Plus, my most common route would involve running straight up a steep hill which finishes almost exactly five minutes walk from home! Much nicer not to run it immediately on starting!!

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to MissUnderstanding]

Exactly like me !!! My five minute walk takes me to the roundabout where I begin to head up!

[BlackCountryLee Graduate in reply to MissUnderstanding]

Haha. That’s the same as me. My start point is up a steep hill too

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

I do them... sometimes longer than five minutes too... after the normal warm up stretch routine etc.

I always make sure that the beginning and end of any run have that time.

The warm up walk is full of anticipation... I incorporate a few high stepping paces and a few donkey kicks too!

The cool down is always wonderful because your body tingles with the efforts of the run and your mind is full of the joy of the whole thing!

[Leotigris Graduate]

I graduated last April so have been running for almost exactly one year and I still do the 5 min warm up walk at the beginning and cool down at the end. Partly because the walk at the beginning takes me to a good starting point for my run and my routes never take me all the way back home so there will always be a distance to walk!

[Cmoi Graduate]

Just to be different - I don't do the 5-minute walks any more because I find them impractical and ineffective. I start by running more slowly, invariably up a slope or hill, because of the terrain. However, before I leave the house, I'll have been moving about a lot, going up and down stairs as I get ready. This is followed by warm-up stretches before I go out of the door. Similar process for cool-down, just in reverse.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Cmoi]

I love this..if I add in all the times I'm up and down stairs and my general moving around faffage time..I've probably had a full workout before I get out !🤣

[BlackCountryLee Graduate in reply to Oldfloss]

I know that feeling. As I said above I still do the NHS dynamic stretching routine before every run and I swear the 3 minutes marching on the spot is harder work than the run itself 😆

[Cmoi Graduate in reply to Oldfloss]

Five minutes' walk takes me along the most exposed part of my route (or directly up into the forest, but that's another story.)

The decider for me was a couple of winters ago. It was well below freezing. Stretched at home, went out, started walking and after five minutes I was frozen, tense and miserable. It made no sense to me to continue something that clearly wasn't working, so I changed my approach.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Cmoi]

Absolutely!

[MrBassmanjazz Graduate in reply to Cmoi]

I still do them, but in Winter, I often wish them over so that I can start running to get warmed up.

[Yesletsgo Administrator Graduate in reply to MrBassmanjazz]

I'm another 'if it's cold I speed up to warm up' person

[MissUnderstanding Administrator On a break Graduate in reply to Yesletsgo]

I have to really watch my pace on cold days. There was one memorable one where I couldn’t work out why I was struggling to breathe. Thought it was because of the cold but I’d gone off like a rocket in some sort of subconscious effort to make my 20 minute run be over more quickly!!

[BlackCountryLee Graduate]

Thanks for all the input folks. You have confirmed what I was hoping you all would that I should continue to do them if that works for me. I still feel so new to this and I’m always second guessing if the habits I’m forming are helping me or not. I will continue the walks !

[Cmoi Graduate in reply to BlackCountryLee]

It's great that you're thinking about the running habits you're forming and what works for you BlackCountryLee .

For me, it's about the result, not the process per se: I knew I needed to warm up, but the 5-minute walks weren't fulfilling their intended function, so I changed to something else.

[chrisl72 Graduate]

My runs have a few minutes of walk at either end to get me across a busy road. Depending which way I go that will be either 2 minutes or closer to 5. As Cmoi said above, I have 'taken a view' on whether a strict 5 minutes is necessary on every run. It was pretty cold when I was doing c25k and 5 minutes walking at the start was not going to warm me up on some occasions! However, I was and remain meticulous in ensuring that I have warmed up properly indoors first, whether or not I have the full walk to start with. I use the Strava Recovery app and follow a 7, 5 and 1 minute warmup in the free version of the Recovery app. At the end, I follow the 15 minute cool down.

[CBDB Graduate]

yup, I still do both 5min warm up walk and 5min cool down walk every single time. In colder weather, my warm up walk sometimes extends to 7 or even 10 minutes.

Runkeeper even has a feature to add 5 min at start or beginning of a run, and I wish NRC would have the same!

[CBDB Graduate in reply to CBDB]

I should say, it fits my route. 5 min gets me exactly from my house door along a street to where my trail begins. Perfect!

[BlackCountryLee Graduate in reply to CBDB]

Loving the NRC runs but agree would be good to have a five minute delay

[SueAppleRun Graduate in reply to BlackCountryLee]

Start the app indoors then hit pause for 5 minutes this worked for me

[XenaZelda Graduate]

This was a question i was going to post so you beat me to it......Although i do a lot of dynamic stretching and then jog on the spot for 1 minute inside to properly warm up I still go for a 5 minute walk to where i want to start my run, sometimes its 10 minutes walk before i start my run depending on where i want to start and then around 5-10 minute walk home anyway, i often see experienced runners and I do wonder if they do a warm up walk first or just get straight out of the door and start running.

[Week7 Graduate]

Three years on I still always have a warm up and cool down walk. Not necessarily always 5 minutes but not far off. I find it just makes it easier yo get started and seems to reduce stiffness after a long run.

[LeeU Graduate]

I have always done them, even do a 5 minute warm up walk when I go to the gym too.

Rather safe than sorry.

[backintime Graduate]

When it's feasible, I clip my dogs' leads on and use my 5 minute cool down as the start of their walk, I don't like finishing, showering, then getting dressed and heading back out again after 30 mins or so. That way my cool down walk is around 30 mins. The timing doesn't always work out, but when it does, it's great!

[BlackCountryLee Graduate in reply to backintime]

Now that’s good time management!

[Wavy-chick28 Graduate]

stretches at home for me then off out the door!!

[BlackCountryLee Graduate in reply to Wavy-chick28]

About to head out. Looking at weather I might try the same today lol

[Cowladyrunning Graduate]

I sometimes start by walking but really play it by ear... it depends if I've been moving around before or not.... you've had great replies here and sounds like you're thinking carefully about what you need to do. It's good to get different views and try different approaches...makes it all fun as you try new ideas!

[Kirst13 Graduate]

I nearly always do the pre walk and if not start my jogging even slower than normal. Afterwards, it varies, sometimes I'll dash back to the desk after a lunchbreak run without time even for a shower, or I might get into the sea for a splash or pool for an actual swim. Often, I'll still walk though, for varying lengths. Stretches sometimes. I jog slowly, so I think my whole run would be many peoples warm up or cool down jog.

[XenaZelda Graduate in reply to Kirst13]

I'm at this very moment sitting at my desk at home still in my running gear as i WFH 5 days a week and have been for a lunchtime run too (i normally like to go earlier in the morning but couldn't get out that early this morning). I haven't had a shower yet either! ive done my warm down stretches though and will have a shower after i log off from work.......i'm a smelly moo 🤣

[Kirst13 Graduate in reply to XenaZelda]

Thank goodness for at home working 🤣on my occasional office days, if I go running on my lunchbreak, I bring flannels with me for a strip wash in the toilet cubicle. Not the nicest place, but feel I owe at least that much to my Co-workers 🤣

[MrBassmanjazz Graduate]

I do them . I don't time them as I now know where 5 minutes takes me to. I have a 5mins from home stopping point too, but often stop before that depending on the run I'm doing.

[Wren]

I have continued to do the warm up and cool down walks as I really enjoy that section as much as the running. I do now include extra warm up exercises as well. Ive been running for 16 months and so far not had an injury! 🙂

[MrBassmanjazz Graduate]

I have a Neighbour who runs from his house to work. I don't know what warm up he does prior to leaving, (not spoken in a while), but he has completed back to back Marathons, in the Sahara, so I guess he knows what he's doing?

[Hidden]

I do both 5 minute walks. The one before my run I start at a steady pace then about a minute in I increase the pace so my brisk walk is very brisk!!

I do a similar think after finishing my run, a few slow paces to catch my breath if I have exerted myself, then pick it back up to a brisk walk. About a minute from the end I start slowing down again. I then do stretching when I get home. When out with a group, we do the stretching at the end of the 5 min walk, then walk home.

My view is that I have been doing the walks since starting the C25K and not had any injuries or aches and pains. The same can be said for the other 7 in our group. If i changed my routine now and something happened I would regret it.

[JetsNanna Graduate]

I don’t do the walks unless I am going to the gym (which is a 15 minute walk away). But, I do a long warm up indoors and always do my stretches post run.

[Raisemeup Graduate]

Well as a retiree, I don't take chances and avoid any injuries as far as possible, so I always warm up and cool down for at least 5 mins. Actually, I incentivise myself by parking away from the start of my run where parking is free, makes good sense all round.However, my younger running friends who are fit as fiddles and run 1/2 marathons frequently, don't seem to do anything special and are fine. So perhaps a few decades ago I may not have bothered, but in my 'dotage' definitely do!

Best wishes ☺️

[ArthurJG Graduate]

I still do it five years later. Warm up and cool down are important. There are other ways of doing it but walking works for me.

[Jell6 Graduate]

" a slow gentle jog for a similar period has the same benefits..." My entire run could be described this way😅, but yes I still do the warm up, cool down walk, even longer warm up in cold weather.

[LottieMW Graduate]

Dynamic stretches, then 5 minutes walk…run…cool down walk and then stretches! Every time…even when I restarted C25k the last time 😊

[chrisl72 Graduate]

Old thread, but back here to say: I have experimented a bit with this and found that if I start my runs with a 5 minute walk it alleviates the 'drag' in the first 10 minutes of running. So I am consistently back to starting with 5 minutes walking now. (This is after warm-up exercises indoors.)

May change that again when it gets cold next winter though!