The importance of a good pre-run and post-run routine
Having a proper pre-run and post-run routine is one of the best ways to prevent injuries. Read along to find out why and get some practical routines that you can implement yourself!
WEEKLY WISDOM: GET THEM GLUTES AS LOOSE AS A GOOSE
Having a proper pre-run and post-run routine is quintessential to keeping the body healthy and happy. Without these two things, you put yourself at a much higher risk for injury, especially when it comes to the former. Unfortunately, many runners do not understand this and/or claim they don’t have enough time to warmup, throwing their shoes on and immediately running out the door. However, these routines do not have to be complicated. Simply allocating an additional 15-20 minutes outside of your run should suffice. Let’s get into the details my ladies and gents…
THE PRE-RUN ROUTINE
A proper pre-run routine will prepare your body for your runs by loosening and activating all the necessary muscle groups. Skipping this means that the loosening and activating will be happening during the first one or two miles of your run where your body is undergoing large, repetitive stress, meaning those first couple of miles could feel quite bad for you! You don’t want your body to be receiving high levels of stress when everything isn’t primed as that means you won’t absorb ground contact forces as effectively, thus inducing excess stress on your body. Lucky for you, spending ten or so minutes to prime the body can have you feeling great from the very first step. I can speak from personal experience that it makes a huge difference. If time is an issue for you, I would recommend that you sacrifice a mile of your run for a good warmup. It would be better for you to do that than run that extra mile.
To give you an idea of what a good pre-run routine might look like, here is what I like to do before all of my runs:
Use a massage gun or foam roller to loosen up your muscles, hitting the quads, hamstrings, calves, glutes, and anywhere else you feel needs some love.
Do a dynamic warmup1 comprised of lighter movements to start before transitioning to more active movements.
Lighter exercises
Toe walks
Heel walks
Hamstring scoops
Quad stretch
Figure four stretch
Leg swings
Sideways (both legs)
Forward and backward (both legs)
General activation
Sideways lunges
Forward lunges
Squats
More running-specific movements
Sideways shuffling
Some random exercise that I’m not sure has a name (make a video and drop it here)
NOTE: Some other good movements include A-skips, B-skips, C-skips, regular skipping, high knees, ankle hops, and other exercises of that nature, but I save those for workout days. These aren’t particularly necessary for before easy runs.
If you’re starting a routine like this for the first time, your body might feel a little tired. However, I guarantee that you will feel much better on your run than if you did nothing! It might sound like a lot, but all of this probably takes me no more than 15 minutes. Over time, it will have no fatiguing effect on your body, so keep at it! Notably, when it comes to long runs, particularly easy ones, you don’t need to do as extensive of a warmup; you could probably drop the running-specific movements entirely. Your body has a LOT of time to warm up on those runs…
THE POST-RUN ROUTINE
Although not as important as the pre-run routine, the post-run routine is still important for getting your body into a resting state to maximize adaptations. For me, this looks rather simple:
5 minute walk
This is great for reducing tension in the body and is something I’d highly recommend to all runners.
5 minutes of self-massage for the quads and lower legs (as needed)
If you’re interested, I like this massage oil product.
NOTE: This step is just a bonus if you have the time and/or desire.
5 minutes of massage gun or foam-rolling
Hit the major muscle groups (quads, hamstrings, calves, glutes) but focus on additional areas as needed.
Eat some food and hydrate well
Regardless of the type of run you’ve just completed, it’s important to hydrate and fuel properly post-run to kickstart the recovery process. This is especially important for long run and workout days where protein and carbohydrate intake should be a top priority.
In my opinion, I would rank these things in the following order (most to least important):
Food and hydration
Walk
Massage gun / foam-rolling
Self-massage
If you don’t have the time for all of the above, I would at least prioritize the first two tasks as they will have the most bang for your buck. Additionally, another good thing to do, if time permits, is mobility exercises, but I find the above routine is usually sufficient. If some area of my body is feeling particularly sore or tight, then I will often throw in some mobility exercises to try to loosen that area up.
WRAPPING THINGS UP
If you haven’t gotten the message, a proper pre-run and post-run routine has numerous benefits for runners of all levels, the biggest ones being you will feel better on your runs and greatly reduce your risk of injury. Doing this may sound daunting, but these routines can be as brief as 5-10 minutes each. It’s important to note that if your time is limited to where you have to choose between doing the pre-run or post-run routine, I’d recommend that you opt for the former as there is more bang for your buck there.
If you have further questions, please ask me of course! See my contact information at the bottom of this post; I would love to help.
Next up on All Things Running… Coaching around enjoyment, confidence, and motivation: Three closely tied, crucial factors for sustainability, consistency, and improvement.
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Quick exercises that prime your body in the ranges of motion that you’ll be in while running. Very different from static stretching which is generally advised against before runs!!!