Here are a few exercises to prepare your body for a marathon and prevent injuries, while you are running one. Every athlete must do a specific warm-up before his/her sports. Runners should do exercises to loosen leg and shoulder muscles. Stretching improves a runners’ athletic performance and helps him get rid of injuries.
You must dedicate at least ten to fifteen minutes for a warm up before starting the race. This is to prepare the mind and body for more strenuous activity. These activities will increase the body’s core temperature and the muscle temperature. By increasing the muscle temperature it helps the muscle to become loose, supple and pliable. A proper warm up also increases the heart and respiratory rate.
Four elements for a warming up routine
Basic warm-up:
This increases heart and respiratory rate and core temperature
It should be practised for 10 to 15 minutes
It should result in breaking a light sweat.
Static stretching exercise:
Static sustained stretches relax the body part being stretched and increase flexibility of the tissue.
Stretches improve your running time.
Take care while doing the stretches. Jerky movements can adversely affect your muscles.
Runners’ specific warm-up:
Do the same movement, which you do while running, but in an exaggerated way. This will help you stretch your muscles and the intense movements will also warm them.
Dynamic stretching:
It is the modern method of preparing any athlete for better performance.
Dynamic movement involves repetitive movements for your joints and muscles.
It helps reduce stiffness of the hip before a run or ride and thus reduces the risk of injury.
Dynamic stretching is ideal prior to exercise to prepare the joints for movement and muscles for optimal activation.
Radical or uncontrolled movements should be avoided.
Pre-run exercises
Inchworms: Start in pushup position and walk your feet as close to your hands as possible. When you can’t go further, stop and walk your hands out in front to return to pushup. Come down on your stomach and arch your back up for a spine stretch.
Leg swings: Stand sideways next to a wall and swing your outside leg forward and back, increasing the height each time.
Walking lunge with twist: Perform deep walking lunges to stretch the hips, twisting torso away from the back leg.
Pre-run exercises
Frog stretch: Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Turn your toes out and squat down as low as possible, keeping your heels flat on the floor. Press your knees open with your elbows.
Quad stretch: While standing, grab the top of your right foot and bring it closer to your glutes while pushing the hips forward.
Pigeon: Sit onthe ground and bend the right leg in front of your body to stretch your glutes.
