Admittedly, up until my recent hip injury, I was that mother runner that just sprinted out the door (or car) and began my run. Yup, nine times out of 10, I did absolutely no pre run warm up. That was all well and good until it wasn’t. I have recently learned (the hard way) that I need a short warm up to get my body ready to hit the pavement. Don’t have time to warm up? That’s what I thought too. I’ve got a 5 minute 5 exercise Pre Run Warm up that you absolutely have time to do.
Why Warm up?
A short dynamic warm up pre-run will help to prep your muscles for maximum performance, may head off injury, and will allow you slowly bring your heart rate up. See more here. This study shows how dynamic warm ups can help your performance in your workout.
5 Pre Run Warm Ups You Should Make Time To Do
Throughout my recovery and return to running the past few weeks, I have come to appreciate how important the warm up is. These 5 Pre Run Warm Ups have been lifesavers. They literally take just 5 minutes to complete. One minute for each exercise.
Perform each of these 5 Warm-Up exercises for 1 minute each. Engage your glute muscles to prepare them for running.
Heel Raises
Can be done on a step/curb or on the ground. Hold onto a wall or tree for balance if needed.
Knee Hugs
Standing tall, grab your knee and hug it into your chest. Alternate for one minute.
Shin Grabs with knee rotation
Grab your shin and as you pull it towards you, rotate your knee out. Use your elbow to increase the stretch. Alternate sides for 1 minute.
Alternating Skater Lunges
Alternate lunging towards each side and reaching an opposite hand towards the foot.
Alternating Hip Rotations
Use a tree or bench for balance. Raise knee to 90 degrees and rotate externally and internally. 30 seconds on each leg for one minute. Can also be done on all fours.
These 5 pre-run warm-ups have been a lifesaver for me. Starting my run feeling warmed up helps me to start off more relaxed and better able to focus on my form. I absolutely have an extra five minutes to spare to do them. Hope you do too! Do you do any of these warm-ups?
Bonus video Warm up ideas
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Ah, the hip rotations! I love these and they really open up all the stiff joints. I should do these more often… thanks for the reminder! And you are right, these 5 minutes are well worth their time.
I have learned the way that I need to keep up with these
Awesome!! I focused on doing more focused warm-ups (and cool-downs) last year, and bingo! No injuries 🙂 It really makes a huge difference. And, honestly, don’t we all have those five minutes? I’m so glad to see you rallying back!!
Yes we do all have 5 minutes especially to help ward off injuries. I am happy to be coming back slowly
I always stretch before a run but this is a great reminder to wake up your glutes before running too!
Failure to wake up and engage the Glutes seems to be the root of many running injuries
I admit that, despite being a coach and having all of my runners do warmups, I’m not always perfect myself. These are great. Not only does a warmup help prevent injury, it also makes the run better!
I have come to learn that myself!
These are all great moves. I especially love the skater lunges. I feel like those really help my legs since they are always tight.
I really feel those in my inner thighs which I don’t really stretch enough
Good list! I hadn’t thought about the shin grab with knee rotation. I’ve been trying to be better about doing a warm up too. I’ll have to add that one to the list.
Great hope it helps you too
I agree, warm ups really help. But it’s hard to make the time for them! Mine looks different from yours, but I’ve done most of those moves at one point or another as a warmup. It’s always changing (sort of).
I always thought I did not have time for them either but my recent injury has me really focusing on them more
Admittedly, I don’t warm up either. I probably should. I get lazy. If I start feeling any niggling in my glutes or IT bands, though, then I start up with all the prehab. I have zero interest in being injured!
Oh I hear ya on that! I am working really hard at coming back right now
Thanks for sharing. Yes a great idea. And no I don’t make time for them but should.
They are really helping me as I come back from this injury
I normally just walk to warm up, buuuut I should for sure be doing these!! Especially the hip opening exercises. My hips are definitely where I most feel my running, since I’m not as young as I used to be! 😛
Well unfortunately none of us are!
I am so bad about stretching before running, but these look nice and easy. I will start to add them to my routine!
Great I hope you find them helpful as well!
The hip rotations are my favorite warm-up yet a lot of times, I forget about them! This is a helpful list!
They are really great for me right now as well
I loooove running, but hate stretching/warming up. I think this could motivate me…!
I really find that they help tremendously
I’m terrible about warming up before a run, but since my hip issues last summer I do try to remember to get the hip rotations in. This is a great list!
Thanks! The hips are my area too and I am finding these to be really helpful
I’m that runner who just heads out the door and uses her first mile as a warm up. I know I should do this. Thanks for sharing the most important movements!
I for sure used to do that as well. These have really been helping me as I come back from this injury
Great! Thanks for sharing this. I will give this a try. 🙂
Great hope they help you as well
YES! 5 minutes is all it takes… it really makes a difference!
I think so too!
Just 5 minutes? There is definitely no excuse not to do them. I am one that heads out the door once I am dressed and ready to run. But does walking down the stairs count as a warmup? 🙂
Yes only 5 minutes! Try them you may like it