Warming Up For Running
make warm-up drills a walk in the park - the play park!
Static warm up stretches alone aren’t enough to prevent shin splints but taking the time to thoroughly warm up all of the muscles involved in running can be very beneficial in terms of helping to prevent many overstress, running related injuries. A progressive series of active stretches, known as drills, after a gentle warm-up jog can make all the difference - and they can be a lot of fun.
All you need is a flattish bit of ground about the distance of one streetlight to the next and then try these drill exercises to make your warm-ups child’s play:
Skipping
You don’t need a rope for this type of skipping, just get up on your toes and skip along the ground like a child in the playground. Let your arms join in, swinging naturally as you skip. The movement needed in your ankle joint and your foot to allow you to bounce along is a great way to increase flexibility in the area and thoroughly warm up the muscles and soft tissues concerned. Holding hands with your running partners and singing, ‘Here we go looby loo..’ is optional!
Side Skipping
Skip sideways by getting up on your toes and travelling in one direction with your right leg leading the way for a few strides and then back again with your left leg leading the way. You may feel like you’re taking part in some sort of country dance but holding hands to form an arch with your partner and singing, ‘The grand old duke of York…’ is optional!
Heel kicks
Jog along using short strides so that you can kick your heels up towards your bottom as you go. Being able to continue connecting your heel with your bum as you jog is more important than how far you actually travel. The fitter you become as a runner, the firmer - and more pert - your bum cheeks become so this exercise can actually become tougher over time!
Knee lifts
Jog along using short strides so that you can lift your knees up high in front of you with each step - a bit like playing ‘horses’ in the playground! Allow your arms to assist you by swinging alongside in a running motion and try a few choruses of, ‘Knees up mother Brown’ to help keep up momentum. It’s more important to be able to keep the height in your knee lifts than to be able to travel a great distance.
Big-giant-moon-walking-six-million-dollar-man-steps
Okay, maybe you need to be of a certain age to remember the six-million-dollar-man! This exercise basically involves travelling forwards by taking exaggerated steps that include a front-lunge movement. From a standing start, take a big step forwards then bend both knees, allowing the heel of your rear foot to lift from the ground. Lower your back knee slightly to feel a stretch down the front of that thigh then move on by bringing the back leg forward to take another giant step…feel the stretch down the front of the thigh on your other leg…continue in the same way for a few more strides, then relax the muscles with an easy jog before beginning your run.
