Warming up before your run...

I'm no expert on this, but I'm a super slow runner. I always walk for five minutes before I start to run. Actually, I lift weights for 15 minutes and then I walk for 5 before running. But I don't see why you can't just walk a few minutes and that be your warm up. I think if you FEEL okay doing that and don't notice any injuries or pain after a week or so, then you have your answer. If you start noticing discomfort, I would go back to how you were doing it before!

I just start out joggin very easily & dont warm up.

I'm not a runner. I hate running. The most I have ever done (and at this point, ever plan on doing) is a 5K.

That said, I usually warm up by walking for a few minutes and then just ease into the run. I'm a slow runner too. My fastest is just over 6 mph (maybe 6.1 or 6.2?), but I can't maintain more than 6 mph for more than maybe a quarter mile. After a mile, I'm down to just under 6 mph.

And now I can't run because I pinched my sciatic nerve.

But I heard somewhere that it's a bad idea to stretch cold muscles. It makes sense; warm muscles would be more limber. So I walk fast to warm up (probably up to 4 mph by the time I start jogging) and then stretch AFTER the run once I've gotten out of the cardio zone. I don't see any reason why you should need to spend 10 minutes stretching and warming just for a jog (which is what a 12-minute mile is). You'll be nice and tired at the end of the run and the stretching will feel like bliss then!

I do an active warmup: front to rear leg swings, 20 each leg, then side to side leg swings (for the IT band), 20 each leg, then pull my knees into much chest, should be 20 each leg but usually get as far as 10 each leg (all three stretches done standing)...doesn't take quite 10 minutes, then I start out running very slowly. It's way more important to me to get in a lengthy, good stretching session after the run--especially at my age of 51 when I notice I stiffen up very quickly.

I run at about 11.5min/mi and I just walk for 5 minutes prior to jogging. Sometimes I'll stop after 10-15min and do a couple of stretches, then keep going, but usually don't.

I start out my walking for a few minutes, then jogging for a total of 10 minutes or so. Then I stretch and go into running. Don't stretch cold muscles, it's not good. I also stretch afterwards. I don't run very fast either but it's still important to stretch.

You shouldn't really do much stretching before a run, but always stretch after.

I realize that this thread was about warming up, not stretching, but I have to ask about this - I must be doing this all backwards. I always stretch before I run, and almost never after a run. I do "cool down" after a run, most of the time with a walk, sometimes with a slow jog, but I hardly ever stretch afterward. I'm in my 8th year of coming back to running, and I have had a couple of minor injuries (a sore achilles once, and pain across the top of my foot that sidelined me for about 3 weeks), but by and large I have been healthy. Have I just been lucky? Thoughts?

You shouldn't stretch before a run because you shouldn't try to stretch cold muscles. Instead you should do a warm-up, and a warm-up should be less in intensity than the workout itself (so if your pace is 11:30, you should be warming up slower than 11:30). What I do is walk a few mins first, then I take my first mile at a pace about 15-30 seconds slower or so than the rest of my run to warm-up. Then at the end of my run I usually walk 5-10 mins to cool down. If anything is bugging me, I'll stretch it out (calves, hamstrings, etc), but that's it. Google dynamic stretching, it's what is recommended over static stretching. Then before bed at night 2-3x's a week (if I'm being good), I use my foam roller and "the stick" to roll out any areas that are tight (mainly calves, hamstrings, IT band, glutes).

I just start out joggin very easily & dont warm up.

Me also. They have done lots of studies that show that stretching and warming up does no good and can actually be counter productive. I have a hard time believing the latter part; I think it was because those that stretch are more likely to run hard and therefore more likely to become injured, not that stretching caused it. Anyway, I usually run my first mile at about a 10:30 pace.

I just start out joggin very easily & dont warm up.

Me also. They have done lots of studies that show that stretching and warming up does no good and can actually be counter productive. I have a hard time believing the latter part; I think it was because those that stretch are more likely to run hard and therefore more likely to become injured, not that stretching caused it. Anyway, I usually run my first mile at about a 10:30 pace.

i never warm up.. just run never had one problem!... what he said^^^

I always walk 5 minutes before starting to run (another slow runner here), and I make sure to always do 15 minutes of yoga stretches after my run. This has helped keep my nagging piriformis (sp) injury from recurring (so far).

I don't warm up. My first mile is usually a little slower pace but other than that, I don't stretch until afterwards, if at all.

^^^ this

Dynamic stretches before, static stretches afterward.
http://www.runnersworld.com/stretching/dynamic-routine

That said, 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it'...

I did what some others mentioned here (walk, then run; or walk, then jog slowly, then run) as well and it worked out fine for me, but
as a novice, my body would freak out after longer runs when training for a 1/2M. For 10+ mile runs, it made a big difference for me to do the dynamic stretches before and the static ones after. Just my 2 cents.

Good luck! :flowerforyou:

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ETA: Addressing the OP's comment about speed - I run very slowly and I find the dynamic stretches beforehand and the static stretches afterward helpful. I suspect it might be an issue of fitness and/or length of run and not a speed issue, per se.

Maybe pick a different "warm-up" routine. Like, do some light weight-training---use light weights, do full, slow range-of-motion.

i usually walk around half mile first i have unnaturally tight muscles so it takes a bit to get me going..i never stretch before hand though..after i usually walk slow and then do another 1/4 to half mile backwards, it looks funny but it deffinatly helps stretch out my shins and i get less shin splints, i also feel that it helps me with building muscles buy doing i've been able to consitantly get faster every week. i always do a 20 minute strectch after, i'm a slow runner too, i usuallyalternate between power walking at 4 mph and jogging at somewhere between 5-6..i can only last a around a half mile to so i know what its like