The Purpose of a Warm Up for Distance Runners?

An alarm going off at 5am followed closely by a runner jumping out of bed and heading straight for the kitchen. Already dressed in running shorts and his favorite marathon shirt, all that is left before the morning run is a quick drink of water, half a banana, and out the door he goes.

Upon opening the front door his body is met by cold chills from the morning wind. He ignores these cold chills and starts his morning 6 mile run. The first 5 minutes are rough as his knee is a little achy, however, he settles in and the run goes well. After the run he quick hops in the shower, gets a bite to eat and is out the door again, this time to work! This includes a 25 minute car ride until he finally arrives at work…

Does this sound like you? If so, was there a warm-up involved in this runner’s morning run? Maybe a quick quadriceps stretch or groin stretch right before he headed out the door? If that’s it…Well that’s not an adequate warm up! Now, let’s take a step back. Is a warm up actually necessary?

We’ve been told that we should warm up before we exercise, workout, run… really before any kind of physical activity. But, what are we actually doing when we decide to perform Frankensteins, leg swings, lunge and twists before we head out on our runs? Well… a lot actually!

Warming up before a run does exactly what it says, it warm us up! The hearts beats faster and stronger. This will send more and more blood to large muscles and tendons. This increase in blood volume to muscles will improve muscle and tendon suppleness. Essentially, improving our muscles’ and tendons’ ability to contract and relax.

If you do not think a warm-up is important, think about the last time you were on a chilly run, forgot your gloves, and your hands became, let’s say, pre-frostnip. Your hands went from a very versatile, quick, and mobile appendage to a clumsy and immobile part of your body. Why? Because the blood vessels have constricted and there is very little blood flow going to the hands. The polar opposite of being adequately warmed up! Imagine trying to run with both legs having frost nip… actually scratch that, it’s too painful to think about!

Now we know the benefits of a warm up, how do we perform one? The warm up should consist of mostly dynamic warm ups. This includes but is not limited to: high knees, lunge and twists, Frankensteins, leg swings, step grab pulls, toe walks, heel walks, skipping, etc. A point to note is any injuries or hot spots you may have.

If you are rehabbing an injury, or have a minor tweak, as our runner did in the story above, the warm up is a fantastic window of opportunity to improve the tissues suppleness. This injury or tweak needs all the care and attention it can get. If we spend an extra minute or two warming up the quads and hips (in the case of knee pain) it will give our knee more time to prepare for all the great running we are going to do.

Lastly, and maybe the most obvious question you may have is, “this is all great Matt, but how do I fit my warm up into my morning routine?”. Great question!

If you are strapped for time, dedicate the first 5 minutes of your run to your warm up. Walk out the door and start with a walk.

After a 2 minute walk start with your dynamic warm up and continue for the next 3 minutes.

Hit the main muscle groups of the legs, ankles, and feet and don’t forget about the shoulder with some arm swings! A video will be posted with sample warm ups below (if it is not there check back in a few days)! Is 5 minutes enough time for an adequate warm up? Probably not, but it is better than no warm up at all!

Want more distance running tips? Check out this article I was featured in on Xero Shoes’ blog on marathon training tips here.

If you are a distance runner that has more questions about warming up for your run, we invite you to reach out to our Maryland physical therapy clinic. We have three locations in Germantown, Frederick, and Columbia.