Warming up properly: the routine that changes everything

Warming up prepares your body for effort: it increases muscle temperature, gently activates your cardiovascular system and reduces the risk of injury and poor performance. It is essential before any intense session or race.

When is it really necessary?

Before an easy run in base endurance, the first slow minutes serve as a warm-up: no need to do more. On the other hand, before interval training, a threshold session or a short race, a proper warm-up is mandatory.

A simple and effective routine

1. 10-15 min of easy jogging to gradually increase your body temperature.
2. A few drills (high knees, heel kicks, side shuffles) to wake up coordination.
3. 3-4 strides with progressive acceleration, to approach your session pace.

Total: 15 to 25 minutes. The shorter and more intense the session, the more complete the warm-up should be (on a 5 km, you start almost at full pace from the start).

Stretching: not before effort

Prolonged static stretching before effort does not improve performance and can even reduce it. Save it for later — see stretching and running. Stick to dynamic movements (drills, mobility work).

Adapt to the weather

In cold weather, lengthen your warm-up; in extreme heat, shorten it to avoid raising your body temperature too early.

Already structured sessions

Sessions generated by Sports Coach AI integrate warm-up and cool-down into their structure, pushed directly to your watch to guide you step by step.