warm ups

[skim]

Hey all,

I was wondering if anyone could give me some decent warm up exercises before a run? Or better yet, what they do at OCS? I can usually go out and run (which is usually in the afternoon) but on some days (like this morning after getting out of bed) my knees to my ankles hurt. I don't know if im stretching enough or warming up enough. With OCS runs being in the morning (from what I understand), my lower leg pain worries me some. Thanks.

 

[WOLFSON]

Skim- This sometimes happens to me as well.

I usually attribute it to overworking myself on previous runs. As for warm-ups, I rarely stretch before any run; studies have shown that pre-workout stretching is not very effective in preventing injuries and that over-stretching will likely cause further injury to any aggravated muscle or joint. Instead of stretching, I just take time to warm-up properly. With the use of a heart rate monitor I slowly increase my heart rate to the aerobic heart rate I plan on maintaining during my run; this usually takes around 10 minutes.

In regards to the pains that you’re feeling, trying taking smaller, lighter steps. World-class marathoners try to keep a 160 steps-per-minute pace when running. Although 160 spm is absurdly fast, think about compacting your form when running and you'll find that you can run farther and faster with less muscle and joint pain. Basically, shorten your gait and you won’t pound your legs as much.

 

[tiger84]

Hey all,

I was wondering if anyone could give me some decent warm up exercises before a run? Or better yet, what they do at OCS? I can usually go out and run (which is usually in the afternoon) but on some days (like this morning after getting out of bed) my knees to my ankles hurt. I don't know if im stretching enough or warming up enough. With OCS runs being in the morning (from what I understand), my lower leg pain worries me some. Thanks.

At OCS you'll need to wake up early to stretch since you won't be given more than a few minutes once in formation. I'm not sure where the PT field is in Newport but in Pensacola we would run in formation down to the field and do our "warmups" which consist of running in place, windmills, punches to sky/front while running in place and some other "dynamic" warmups. If you're like my class that entire period will be spent on your face getting some upper body conditioning in. It's not the most conducive to getting ready for a run, but the OCS runs aren't that long/hard anyway so it's not too big of a deal. Just make sure to wake up a little early and get yourself stretched out properly before reveille.

 

[Swanee]

Before any workout I do a dynamic warm-up. This gets my heart rate up and my core warm, which will help you with your posture and balance.

First I jump rope for 4-5 minutes, starting slowly and ending in a "sprint". This gets the heart rate going.

Next I do 2 sets of each of these exercises at about 40-50 yard distances:

Walking lunges- these get your quads full of blood and ready to do some work.

Walking straight leg kicks (zombies)- these stretch out your hamstrings and get your hip muscles working as well as start to warm up your core muscles (abs, hips, etc...)

Walking knee pulls- similiar to zombies but stretch your butt muscles as well as warming up your calves.

then I take a 18 lb ball and do 250 pocket pickers then do 250 flutter kicks. These warm up your core.

lastly I do 2 sets of 25 tuck jumps to keep my heart rate up and get my legs working together.

Before I get into my run or whichever I do a light static stretch to get rid of some of that lactic acid build up and to keep loose. The key is light and short, you don't want your heart rate to drop.

I do this dynamic warm-up before any workout that I do, whether I am about to skate a game (I'm a minor pro Ice Hockey Referee right now), go running, plyo, swimming etc... The nice thing about a warm up is that it helps me get into a training mindset, it's like a switch for my brain to help me focus in.

 

[WOLFSON]

If I don't have enough time to properly warm-up, I'll usually just do something like this:

 

[Spekkio]

I just run cold, too (and at 7 am before work), so can't really help there.

 

[skim]

Thanks for the advice. I have been feeling it all day in my legs, and it doesn't help that I stand and walk all day on concrete at the warehouse. Sometimes it would go away, and other times it would hurt. I will probably bike until it gets better. Props to the cable guy warm up.

 

[FSF17]

The current OCS warm-up... a quarter mile formation run, a stretch routine, then a slow jog, backwards jog, grapevines both ways, lunges, sidesteps both ways, then back to a slow jog... about 30 seconds of each.

 

[skim]

what are grapevines?

 

[BACONATOR]

what are grapevines?

This is probably what they called "karaoke inboard/outboard" in pcola, no? Someone?

 

[skim]

This is probably what they called "karaoke inboard/outboard" in pcola, no? Someone?

I got the karaoke part, but not to sure how to sing inboard/outboard. For a pro-rec wannabe, please explain...still dont know what grapevines are....

 

[BACONATOR]

I got the karaoke part, but not to sure how to sing inboard/outboard. For a pro-rec wannabe, please explain...still dont know what grapevines are....

karaoke is the popular football warmup exercise where you shuffle sideways alternating feet. IE- going to the right the left foot would step to the right first in front of the right foot, then behind, then in front etc etc...and thusly you would shuffle to the right. You would do this inboard (facing in to the center of the field) and then outboard (facing outward) to get both directions. If this is grapevines, then problem solved. If not, then I wasted about 10 minutes of your life (I know, I know...).

 

[skim]

No time wasted. Thanks sir.