Running is not exactly easy on our body. Injuries and management of the injuries are a part of the sport. You can be smart about training and recovery and still end up with an ache that limits your ability to complete that goal race. Addressing sub-optimal biomechanics is often key to staying healthy and reaching your goal.

Fortunately most running injuries can be addressed by working with a physical therapist who can coach you on proper corrective exercises, and occasionally manual techniques to get you running well. We have found that the vast majority of running injuries are often “fixed” by the athlete themselves by doing the proper corrective exercises with occasional running technique modifications.

One thing we have found with running is that certain muscle groups tend to be overworked while others tend to be underutilized. It is the nature of the sport. As an example with cycling, the tire in the back wears about 75% faster than front tire because most of the weight is in the back and it is the drive wheel. So, a cyclist will rotate their tires as they know the back tire will overwork more than the front tire. This improves the longevity of the tire.

To improve our body’s longevity and resiliency it helps to strengthen those muscles that are underutilized with running, while stretching or inhibiting the overworked muscles. This helps prevent imbalances from occurring, and thus prevent injuries in our running program. Therefore, it would be ideal to create a warm up routine that strengthens those underutilized muscles while stretching or inhibiting those overworked muscles.

The muscles that tend to over work with running are our back muscles, hip flexors, quad muscles, and calves. So a good warm up routine should stretch or inhibit those muscles. The muscles that need facilitating are our abs, gluteals, hamstrings, and adductors. A warm up routine to activate or strengthen those muscles would be ideal.

We have created a routine that does just that! Now, every runner is unique and if you are dealing with an injury go see your physical therapist. These are not meant to treat any injuries. However, they can be used to improve your body’s resiliency to prevent future issues. Give them a try and let us know what you think!

Dynamic Warm Up for Injury Prevention and Performance:

1) Inchworm

Start on your hands and knees. Round your back and “push” the floor away from you, spreading your shoulder blades apart. Straighten your legs and allow your heels to relax back. Take short steps and walk your feet towards your hands. You should feel your abs engage and your calves and back stretch. Take 5 deep breaths. Walk your hands out and repeat 4 more times.