Effective Warm-up before the Run

Before running, the basic thing that you should do is warm-up, right? Warm-up is important because it will prepare your body for the “real thing”. If you notice, during warm-up, your body’s heart rate will gradually increase. Warm-up also prepares your ligaments, tendons and muscles. Experts believe that poor warm-up will affect your performance.

There are people who believe that stretching calves, quads and hamstrings before running will make their performance better. In reality, it will not. It is true that stretching or tugging your muscle, ligaments or tendons can help you loosen up but it will have little help. In 2011, the European Journal of Applied Physiology analysed the results of their experiments.

They had more than 100 experiments about the effects of stretching before running (or other athletic activities), they found out that static stretching (like that of sprinting and jumping) decreases the strength of your muscles plus it alters the elastic properties of the muscles. The researchers are advising Singaporeans and other runners to avoid static stretching prior to running.

Here are some warm-up exercises that you should consider:

• Fast skipping: Instead of staying in one place where you do the stretching, you can consider a more dynamic warm-up by skipping fast. You can do this in the road, grass or sidewalk as long as it is flat. You can begin by skipping forward for about fifteen yards. Do not go for distance or height. Just focus on your quick but short steps.
• Hip circles: Hip circles are perhaps the easiest. To do this, you need to stand with your feet shoulder width apart. After that, put your hands to your hips and rotate your pelvis; make sure that it forms a large circle. Do these fifteen times clockwise and counter-clockwise.
• High knees: You can also perform high knees. This is not new to you. In high knees, you only need to lift your knees until it is in the level of your waist. Reach as high as you can. Exaggeration here is effective you know. Do this by marching or jogging for about fifteen yards.
• Backward running: Not all people consider this but you will be surprised that backward running is effective warm-up exercise. You have to run backwards for about twenty five yards and repeat it once done.

Now you are set. Actually there are a lot of warm-up exercises out there. Running is not a problem here in Singapore because there are myriad running paths. You should make good use of it. Good luck on your run! You will see, you will feel better and improved.