A good warm-up routine is essential for preparing the body for more intense training and racing.  The goal should be to gradually increase heart rate,  blood circulation and loosen muscles and joints.  This allows for superior performance at intense efforts and, most importantly, prevention of injuries.

Every workout should begin with light Zone 1 jogging, spinning or swimming for approximately 10-20 minutes.  For easy workouts, this 10-20 minute easy effort is a sufficient warm-up.  If the workout calls for more intense run intervals or is a race, then you should integrate additional activities: specifically dynamic stretching, drills and strides.

Below is a video covering all aspects of the Working Triathlete warm-up routine.

Dynamic Stretching

After 10-20 minutes of light activity, it is good to further loosen muscles and joints by performing a dynamic stretching routine.  The goal is to gently stretch each muscle for a very short period, relax it briefly and then stretch it again.  Dynamic stretching has been proven to be superior to static stretching at activating muscles and boosting joint mobility, which will improve performance and prevent injury.

Drills

After dynamic stretching, perform drills.  The purposes of drills are:

1.    To loosen muscles so as to promote flexibility and decrease the likelihood of injury

2.    To stimulate the neuromuscular system in preparation for faster running

3.    To emphasize certain aspects of good running form so that they translate to your stride

All drills are dynamic and should be done with a focus on maintaining appropriate form.  In each drill, emphasize running tall and pumping your arms forward and backwards with no lateral movement.  

Strides

Strides are short pick-ups wherein you run 10-20 seconds by slowly building from a slow jog up to just below sprint pace.  Focus on form: running tall with your shoulders back and head up, landing on your forefoot, pumping your arms, and lifting your knees.

Strides are an important component of a warm-up as they prepare the body for faster running. Furthermore, they are essential to do a couple of times a week during all phases of training to ensure proper form and to keep the body in touch with the neuromuscular demands of faster running.  Even in the preparation or base phase of training, strides should occasionally be done after Zone 2 runs.  Doing them before harder Zone 4 and 5 efforts and races is not negotiable.  They are essential.