Skip your pre-run warmup and you’re heading for trouble – sore muscles or even an injury. Your body will run better with a dynamic warmup. These dynamic stretching exercises for runners will activate the main muscle groups in your body.
A dynamic warmup exercise increases blood flow, engages muscles, and improves mobility. You’re waking up your legs, hips, core, and upper body with movements that mimic your run or enhance your range of motion. Running is an exercise in one plane of motion so it’s always good for a runner’s workout to add lateral movement.
Dynamic vs Static Stretching: What’s The Difference
Not that long ago, runners included static stretching in their warmups. In static stretching, you elongate your muscles as far as possible and hold the position for 30 seconds or even longer.
But stretching your muscles before a run so that they’re loose and relaxed, can impact your performance. Running uses muscle tension to propel yourself forward. Your muscles are working within their normal range of motion. There’s no benefit pre-run from lengthening and stretching your muscles. Save your static stretching for your cool-down.
Dynamic stretching activates and increases the temperature of your muscles preparing them for running. You’re waking up your muscles and removing some of that joint and muscle stiffness you get in your day-to-day activities. By gently engaging your muscles you’re less likely to pull something or suffer from muscle soreness during your run.
Dynamic stretching helps with mobility, flexibility, strength, and balance, by encouraging your body to move in the way nature intended (before all those bad habits from sitting and slouching set in).
Dynamic Stretching Warmup for Runners
Instead of launching straight into your warmup stretches, it’s best to start with a gentle 3 to 5-minute walk followed by 2 minutes of easy jogging. If you’re warming up inside before going out for your run try walking on the spot.
Once the blood is flowing, try these dynamic exercises:
1. Standing Leg Swing
One of the essential pre-run stretches, it’s a great stretch for warming up the hamstrings and powering the glutes.
- Stand alongside a chair or other support if needed.
- Swing your leg forward with the leg straight but without locking the knee.
- Let the leg swing down and back as far as your flexibility allows.
- Repeat 10 times with each leg.
2. Runner’s Lunge With Twist
Open up the hips and wake up the glutes and lower body with this powerful lunge.
- Start in the plank position.
- Bring one leg forward between your hands.
- Hold for 5 seconds then twist and reach one arm up into the air.
- Return to the plank position.
- Repeat 5 to 10 times with each leg.
- Modified position: Lower the back knee to the floor.
3. Inchworm
This is a full-body dynamic workout: hamstrings, core, and upper body. It’s best to use a mat.
- Stand at one end of the mat with feet hip-width apart.
- Hinge from your hips so that your hands reach the ground and walk your hands out in front of you.
- Continue as far as you can until you’re in an extended plank position.
- Walk your hands back again and return to standing.
- Repeat 3 to 5 times.
4. Thoracic Bridge
Running isn’t just about your legs. This pre-run stretch will improve movement, stability, and posture in your upper body.
- Sit on your bottom and put your hands down behind you. Press hard into the floor.
- Check your neck is loose and you can raise your hips off the floor.
- In one smooth motion, take one hand off the ground, and reach that hand up and over away from your body while reaching your hips off the ground.
- Press down hard through the arm that’s on the ground.
- Bring yourself back down and test on the other side.
- Aim for good back mobility.
- Repeat 5 to 8 times on each side.
- Modified position: use a wall or a couch until you’re able to complete the move with your hand on the floor.
5. Skater Jumps
This dynamic movement raises your heart rate and targets your hip abductors.
- Stand with your legs slightly bent and arms at your side.
- Jump to the right and as you jump take your left foot behind you and bring your left arm in front of you.
- Then jump to the left with your right foot behind you and right arm in front of you.
- Repeat 10 times on each side.
6. Clock Lunges
Warm up your glutes and build strength and stability in your ankles and knees.
- Picture yourself standing in the center of an imaginary clock with the 12 o’clock position in front of you and the 6 o’clock position behind you.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and lunge forward to the 12 o’clock position. Return to standing, then lunge forward to the one o’clock position.
- Continue working your way around the imaginary clock until you reach the 6 o’clock position.
- Switch legs and repeat on the other side until you again reach the 6 o’clock position.
With your dynamic stretching exercises completed, you should be all warmed up and ready to run!
If you’ve found this post helpful you may enjoy these bodyweight exercises for runners and essential hip-opening stretches for runners.
