I hate warming up before a workout or even a race. “Stretching?” you might ask. I mean, if you count squatting to tie my shoes then yep got that done, now let’s go! So often I find myself standing around, talking with my running partner, doing the old man stretch: hands on hips, feet apart, (don’t forget to slouch!) and I call it stretching. Now that IS a waste of time.
The truth is, warming up before a run or workout is essential to getting the most benefit from your effort. When you go out to get your run on, you’ve probably had to set time aside, get your gear on, decide where you’re going, phone, buds, playlist, watch, etc. It can all be a little overwhelming and take up that precious time you have to get this done. The very last thing you want to do is warm up. Insert eye roll here. By the time you’re ready to go, you’re READY TO GO. So off you go. And guess what? You hate it right? Like it hurts. You feel stiff. Your lungs are screaming. You’re asking yourself why do I even do this to myself? Then you remind yourself, the first mile is always the hardest (it’s not) and you press on. A mile in and lo and behold…you’ve found a rhythm. The music is good, the air moving over your face feels invigorating, and your legs aren’t whining as much. In fact your legs are strong! You’re strong! You can do this forever! You are a runner!
The obvious point here is that you weren’t actually ready. For all your prep and all your tech what you really did was delay your warm up. That first mile? The one where you wanted to quit? That was actually your warm up and it sucked. Luckily, you can fix this in two quick adjustments. One, change your mindset and recognize the reality: our muscles, lungs included, need time to get into run mode. Blood vessels need to dilate to allow blood flow to the proper places and constrict to the areas not in use, like your GI tract. This all takes some time and a little training. You may have heard of good sleep hygiene? In order to get yourself into sleep mode, you create a routine and train your mind and body to prepare for bed. Same principle here. You are training your mind and body for exercise. Two, actually warm up! Don’t start your run or workout until your body is fully ready for it! How? Try a few minutes of brisk walking to start. Not to the end of the driveway while you get your playlist set, actually making this a part of your workout. Another great way to get the blood moving to the right places, is to do some strides, then high knees, then crossovers, then jog. Not only will you feel stupid, you will look stupid too! I mean your first mile is a struggle anyway and believe me it looks stupid when you are wheezing after 10 yards. So do yourself a favor and warm up.
Surprisingly, there are reasons beyond looking good to warm up before your workout. The most important of which is to prevent injury. Diving right into a workout or run without warming up is a recipe for injury. The soft tissue needs to flex and stretch before you start pounding the pavement, lifting, or cycling. Arm circles, lunges, and a few head rolls can do wonders, but in reality you need to stretch the muscles, tendons, and ligaments you’re about to strengthen, albeit by damaging them. How much you need to do depends largely on how long it’s been since you’ve exercised and how hard you’re about to go. Temperature can play a factor as well, inversely proportional of course. As temps go down, warm up time and stretching go up.
Let’s face it, we’re all busy. Most people don’t take the time to exercise, but if you do choose to work a little run or workout in to your life, then please warm up. You’ll be safer and get more out of your workout faster than ever. Afterall, you’ve made the time for it, get more from it. Who knows? Maybe you’ll even start to love that first mile…
#grinditoutrunning
