How to Stretch Before Running

When you go for a run, do you just bound straight out the door? Or do you take the time to warm up? If you don't spend some time stretching out, you could be headed toward serious injuries. In order to best protect yourself from running injuries, warm up at a very easy jog for 5-10 minutes and then go through the stretches listed below. It definitely helps your body to warm up those muscles and keep injury at bay.

Instructions

1. Stretch your back, hamstrings, glutes and adductors by standing with your legs apart until you feel a gentle pull from your inner thigh to your knee. Bend at the waist and lean towards your ankle. Grab as far down your leg as possible and hold for 20 seconds. Repeat on the other side.

2. Stretch your soleus, glutes, perineum, and lower back by starting in a standing position and squat down, keeping your heels on the floor. Spread your feet apart until you feel a stretch in your hips and the bottom of your pelvis. Rest your hands on the floor for support and breathe deeply. Hold for 20 seconds.

3. Stretch the arches in your feet by removing your shoes and sitting back on your heels with your toes still resting on the floor. Hold for 20 seconds.

4. Stretch your psoas and rectus abdominus by doing the cobra stretch. Lay face down on the ground with your hands under your shoulders. Press yourself up into an arch, keeping your hips in contact with the floor. Keep your mouth closed and breath through your nose. Hold for 20 seconds.

5. Stretch your glutes by sitting against a wall or a running partner's back with your legs straight in front of you. Grab one leg and pull it against your chest, hugging it towards the opposite shoulder. Bend your other leg while trying to keep both sits bones on the floor. Hold for 20 seconds and repeat on the other side.