How To Warm Up Before Your Run | Get The Most Out Of Your Running Workout

Published on December 8th 2017

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Before I start any type of training, I always make sure that my body is fully prepared for the activity ahead. It can be a little bit tempting to cut your warmup short, especially when you're tight for time, but you will get far more out of your training session if you're thoroughly warm and loosened up. The key part to a warmup is getting warm, so there's no harm in starting with a few extra layers and you can always take them off as you go. It's a bit chilly today, so I've borrowed this beanie from the GTN guys. Well, to get us started, I'm gonna warm up by going into a steady jog and then building through it as I go. I'm back from the jog, and I'm nice and warm. Now it's important to do some dynamic stretches. So start off, I'm just gonna do some leg swings. Forwards and backwards. Make sure you find something to hold onto so you can really focus on getting the action properly rather than losing your balance. Lamppost will do, or find a friend. The idea is opening up your hips, getting them ready to be able to run. Now onto full body twists. Great for rotation and opening up your hips. It's important that one foot goes in front of the other and then you alternate, and don't forget you've always gotta go back in the other direction. High skipping is all about the height. You can use your arms to help, and you want to get your knees and hips to 90 degrees, and this will make sure those glutes start firing. Now this one involves a little bit of coordination. Start with your arms at the top, you're gonna swing one forwards, one backwards, and then the other way. And if you're feeling really coordinated, you can add in a clap at the top. It's another brilliant exercise for rotation and getting your body fully warmed up. On to side steps. Now it's important to use your arms as well because you want the blood flowing to the whole of your body. And the key for this is getting as much height as it is distance. And don't forget, you need to go in both directions as well. Now before you start this, just check behind you that it's safe to go. And then, the idea is running backwards really firing those glutes. But it'll also help open up the front of your hips. We're almost there, it's just high knees again. It's about reactivity, speed, and keeping a really nice upright posture. Staying with speed and reactivity, this helps open up your hips, but really getting your feet reacting off the ground. You don't need to move forwards fast, just need to use your legs fast. Now if you followed this warmup, you will now be fired up and ready to nail that session. But just remember, when you finish, a cool down is just as important. Subscribe to GTN: http://gtn.io/SubscribetoGTN Check out the GTN Shop: http://gtn.io/4P If you'd like to contribute captions and video info in your language, here's the link 👍 http://gtn.io/4Q Watch more on GTN... 📹 8 Key Stretches To improve Your Flexibility - http://gtn.io/8Stretches 📹 Kenyan Hills Running Session - http://gtn.io/4y