Warmup is the process of preparing your body for exercise. It’s not just to get your heart pumping and blood flowing, but it’s also important to prepare your muscles, joints and other tissues so they can sustain the demands of running.
Walking is an excellent form of low-impact exercise that can help you get started on a treadmill or outside. Walking helps improve cardiovascular fitness, bone health and muscle strength. However, walking alone won’t give you the same benefits as running does, so it’s important to add in some other forms of activity such as jogging or walking before you start running regularly.
The purpose of this warmup routine is to increase your body temperature and prepare your muscles for activity by loosening up tight muscles while also increasing blood flow throughout the body. This will help reduce soreness after a run session while also improving performance during subsequent workouts as well.
Running Warmup Routine
The following warmup routine focuses on dynamic stretches that will work all major muscle groups without overstretching any areas too much or causing injury if performed incorrectly: 1) Forward Lunges
Forward lunges are an excellent way to warm up your legs and prepare them for running. This exercise helps increase the blood flow throughout your body, which is important as you start to run because it helps prevent soreness and injury. Forward lunges also work your leg muscles, including the ones that support your feet when you’re running.
2) Knee to Chest
This is a simple but effective stretch that works out the major muscle groups in both of your thighs while also stretching out your calves as well. You can do this stretch by kneeling on the ground with one knee bent at a 90-degree angle and then placing your hands on either side of that knee for support. Flex both of your knees toward each other until they’re almost touching, hold for 30 seconds then switch sides and repeat three times total. 3) Hip Flexor Stretch
This hip flexor stretch targets one of the main muscles in both of your thighs known as the rectus femoris (the “hip flexor”). While this stretch isn’t very effective at targeting specific areas like some others are, it does help warm up those areas so they don’t get too tight during later exercises such as squats or lunges. 4) Hamstring Stretch
The hamstrings are another group of muscles in both of your thighs that can be stretched using this exercise (the gluteus maximus would be another one). To stretch your hamstrings, you’ll want to lie on your back with one leg bent and the other straight. Bring that bent knee toward your chest while keeping the straight leg flat on the ground. Hold for 30 seconds then switch sides and repeat three times total. 5) Calf Stretch
The calf muscles are another group of muscles in both of your thighs that can be stretched using this exercise (the gastrocnemius would be another one). To stretch out your calves, stand up with one foot slightly behind the other and place a towel or rolled-up mat under the ball of that foot so it doesn’t touch the floor. Gently pull both feet toward each other until you feel a stretch in each calf, hold for 30 seconds then switch directions and repeat three times total. 6) Wrist Flexibility
3 Ways to Warm Up Your Body Now that you have some stretches to try out, here are some ideas for how to warm up your body before running: 1) Walk/Run If you don’t have time or energy to run outside but still want to get some cardiovascular activity into your day, walking is an effective way to warm up without overdoing it on intensity. You can also do this by jogging or running outside if you prefer those exercises instead of walking (just make sure you still do at least some form of cardio after warming up). 2) Jump Rope Jumping rope is an excellent way to
to warm up your entire body and get blood flowing to all of the muscles. You can do jumping rope on its own, or you can pair it with some other cardio activity like running or walking. 3) Circuit Training If you have a lot of time to dedicate to getting your body warmed up for the day, circuit training is a great option because it combines several different types of exercises into one workout. This type of training gets blood flowing throughout your entire body, which helps increase oxygen and nutrient delivery as well as waste removal from the system (all things that are necessary for optimal performance).
