My pre run routine always starts with coffee, spending far too much time on Strava planning a route and then I sometimes do some of the exercises below. I don’t do this warmup every day but if I’m spending an extended period of time driving to a trailhead for a run these are the exercises I’ll do before I hit the trails.
The first one is a leg swing, it’s pretty easy, but I simply swing my legs back and forth on a stationary object 10-15 times on each leg. I do swings back and forth with the object to the left or right of me, and leg swings facing the object. The goal is to open up my hips and loosen my hamstrings.
The second exercise I often do is simple. I have an elastic band wrapped around my knees and I walk with a wide stance to activate my hips and glute muscles.I normally do 10-15 steps in one direction, and then turn around and head back to where I started.
The third and final exercise I do is an exercise to open my hips up. This is the one exercise I do the most often. If you’re outside lay on a mat or the ground, if you’re at your house you can just do this one on the floor. I lay down, and with my legs bent to 90 degrees I swing my legs to the other side and then repeat the movement about 15 times. This really opens up my hips before I’m about to run, and when I’m deep into a training block I’ll do this daily before heading out the door. Again, these are the few exercises that work for me, and I do not do them every day. Some days, I’ll simply lace up my shoes after my coffee and head out the door.
