75% of runners do not bother warming up prior to running because they either don’t know what to do, don’t understand the importance of it, or say they just don’t have time.

Warming up truly prepares your body for the session of training ahead. A lot of people just perform static stretching, which is good, however it does not count as a warm up – you want to try to do motions that mimic your running movement. A good warm-up should really mobilize your joints and get your muscles activated preparing you for the activity that you are planning to do. Activating the muscles will prevent injuries and promote blood flow to the muscles.

If you are preparing to do high impact activity, you want to make sure you heart rate is up to par as well. Rather than going all out right away, your warm up session will help you raise your heart rate, and control your breathing and internal temperature.

DO NOT AVOID a warm up! It will only take five minutes of your time and it will make a huge impact on the way you run. Take it as a challenge. Try a warm up routine and make a habit of it before running and see how it makes a difference when you run.