Longer days are ahead! With the time change approaching we are looking forward to longer days of sunshine giving us more time to enjoy the many trails and parks in Portland. Many people also use this time of year to pick back up a running routine, or start one for the first time!
We often tend to just throw on our shoes and head out the door without second thought. While it may feel warm outside, our bodies need a little bit of time to warm up before jumping into a full fledged run.
A proper running warm up has a few goals in mind. First is to raise your core body temperature, start to move more blood and oxygen to all the muscles you'll be using, and then help your joints start to move more fluidly. A proper warm up is also important to help reduce your risk of running related injuries by making your joints and muscles more adaptable to the upcoming forces you'll be putting on it.
A warm up should be dynamic in nature. In static stretching, you usually hold a stretch for a long period of time with the goal of lengthening that individual muscle. You should not perform static stretching before a run, wait until after the run when your muscles are looser, warm and more prepared to receive those benefits. Instead, incorporate some of these dynamic stretches to help your body get ready to run while reducing your risk of getting an injury or pain while running.
Walking- starting with a brisk walk is a great way to mimic the motions of a run, without the ballistic nature, and start to increase your circulation.
Knee hug to calf raise- as you walk alternate lifting and hugging a knee into your chest while adding a calf raise on the opposite leg. This is a great way to get your calf firing and ready to propel you forward as well as adding some hip mobility.
Walking high kick- as you walk kick your leg out in a controlled manner and try to touch your opposite hand to opposite toes. This will help mobilize both the muscles and nerves in your lower extremity.
Walking deadlift- as you walk, move to standing on one leg, keeping it straight and strong, hinge down in front of you to try to touch your toes while the other leg reaches out behind you.
Dynamic hip swings- Hold onto a fence or post and swing your leg across your body several times and then forward and back several times. Another great way to get the blood moving in your lower extremity as well as mobilize the muscles and nervous system.
Form drills- high knees, but kicks, grapevine drill, and backwards running are all great drills to start prepping your body by breaking the run down into each of its individual components and mastering them.
A warm up should be at least 10-15 minutes but can be as long as a half hour if you have the time. Spend a few minutes on each and see how much better your legs feel on your next run!
Of course, if any of these are painful, do not push through pain and make sure to come have our team take care of you!