Warming up before running makes any workout comprehensive and complete, it prevents the risk of injury, the development of colds, and also promotes excellent health after exercise. Remember, any physical exercise begins with warming up muscles, kneading joints and ligaments. Thanks to a simple set of exercises, you will prepare your body for stress, help your muscles become more elastic and resilient, which means you will contribute to increasing your own endurance and achieving new personal victories.
In this article, we will talk about how to properly warm up for long and short distances, we will talk about the nuances, depending on what time of day you are jogging. We will teach you how to warm up correctly in summer and winter, as well as give a simple set of exercises for beginners - a warm-up before running will become an integral and favorite part of your workout. And that's not all - at the end of the material, we will list the main mistakes associated with warming up before running. Are you interested? This is what we achieved! Let's get started!
What is a warm-up for?
Before telling you how to warm up before running correctly, let's briefly list why you should waste time on "useless" physical education at all.
- First of all, this complex is far from useless. Yes, it will not help you lose weight, build muscle, or improve your personal athletic performance. On the other hand, it effectively prepares the ligaments, joints and muscles that will work when running, for stress - it has been proven that a warm-up before running improves a runner's results by 20%;
- Secondly, running is a rather traumatic activity. Just a small hole in the path or a small stone is enough for the unheated ligaments or muscles to suffer.
Trust your personal experience - a partial meniscus rupture, a course of painful injections and a six-month recovery have become a personal lesson for the author of this material!
- Thirdly, it is important to warm up not only muscles and ligaments, but also joints, to be more precise - to increase their mobility. Warming up your knees before running does a great job.
- Fourth, Exercise prepares the respiratory and circulatory system for future stress, thereby promoting normal blood circulation and even breathing during exercise. But you already know how important it is to breathe correctly while running?
Have we convinced you? If you want to watch how to warm up before running on video - we recommend this for beginners, open any video hosting site. We recommend that you pay special attention to the correct technique for performing tasks.
Warm-up features depending on conditions
Let's talk about the nuances that every serious runner should know - how to warm up correctly in winter and summer, in the morning and in the evening, and also if there is a difference depending on the size of the planned distance.
By the way, the warm-up after running is no less important - the exercises that should be used to complete the workout. This complex is called a hitch, it allows you to relieve tension in the muscles, helps to increase their elasticity, and if the correct technique is followed, it minimizes pain in beginners.
What warm-up should be done before running long and short distances, do you think distance matters? We hope you answered in the affirmative, because the longer the race is planned, the more time you should devote to preparation and warm-up. If you have to master a track longer than 5 km, spend at least 15-20 minutes on exercises, and the first 5-7 of them should be given to intensive walking. Before running at medium distances, warm up for 5-10 minutes, but make sure that you have time to work out the whole body - from the neck to the ankle joints.
If you are wondering if you need a warm-up before running in winter, we will answer that at this time of the year its value is much higher than in summer. In winter, the body experiences more stress, because in addition to physical activity, it is important to maintain the temperature balance. The quality of the track coverage also plays a role, because in the winter season it is covered with snow, partly with ice, it can become uneven, loose, etc. All this increases the risk of injury, so it is important to warm up properly (well, do not forget about special sneakers for winter activities). By the way, experts recommend doing a warm-up before running in a warm room in winter, at least for the first half of it. This puts you on the street already warmed up, which reduces the likelihood of a cold or inflammation of the respiratory system.
So, the winter set of exercises should be longer than the summer one, and, preferably, take place in a warm room.
We have considered what should be the warm-up before running long distances and short, in the winter and summer seasons, and now let's talk about what to look for in the morning and evening runners. The first is to properly stretch and warm up the body after sleep, to increase the elasticity of the ligaments. And the latter should warm up, especially after sedentary work, and also reduce fatigue and stress. Therefore, in the morning, athletes are advised to pay attention to vigorous exercise, and in the evening, light warm-up and stretching at an average pace.
Simple and effective complex
If you think that before jogging it is enough to warm up your legs before running, you are very mistaken, because practically all muscle groups are involved in this type of sports load. We will present a simple complex that will suit both novice runners and experienced athletes. Spend 10-15 minutes on it before the start and you can not worry about the health and quality of the lesson.
So, we recall the school lessons of physical education and act according to a similar scheme. The exercises are performed from top to bottom, from the neck to the feet, while the initial stance is feet shoulder-width apart, arms on the sides, and the back straight. Run:
- Circular movements of the neck and head tilts in 4 directions;
- Rotation of the shoulder and elbow joints. Start with a hand on shoulders position, then straighten your upper limbs;
- Next, knead the lower back, pelvis, body - tilts, circular rotations, flexion and extension;
- Get down below - run in place, jog with an overlap of the lower leg back, make circular rotations of the ankle joints, knees.
- Do exercises with toes, squats, and jumping in place.
Please note that in this material we do not pay attention to the correct technique for performing the exercises, therefore, we recommend that you study the relevant literature or watch educational video tutorials.
Warming up before running for weight loss should be done intensively and in two approaches, while during the second it is advisable to pick up dumbbells or increase the number of cycles. It has been proven that the first 40 minutes of exercise, the body uses up energy from glycogen stored in the liver, and only then begins to draw strength from fats. Therefore, the longer you spend on warm-up, the sooner you will bring the process of burning excess weight while running.
Major mistakes
Well, we have considered all the nuances associated with the correct execution of the warm-up before running. Finally, check out the list of things not to do.
- The complex should not be too long, especially when warming up before running in winter. You already have a serious physical activity, you should not exhaust the body at the very beginning. The upper temporary ceiling is 20 minutes.
- Never start warming up with a stretch - it's much better for a cool down. If you do not understand the reason, try right now, without prior kneading, to sit on the twine. Painfully?
- Leg swings, lunges and rolling from foot to foot are more suitable for an evening warm-up, but in the morning try not to stretch with exercises that are difficult to control the intensity. Remember, the body has not yet woken up, so it is most vulnerable.
Well, let's finish. Remember, any run, even an easy one - even regular walking, should start with a warm-up. Even chess players are warming up! Also, do not forget about the hitch - start and finish your classes correctly!
