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Track Workout - Standard Warm-Up

Objective: Lubricate your joints, activate muscles, gradually ramp up your heart rate. The more intense your workout, the more important the warm-up. Do not skip the warm-up. It should take about 10 minutes. Keep focused and don't get too casual during the warm-up. There are many good warm-up and dynamic activation movements, so be careful that you don't do so many of those that you have no time left for the main set...

Joint Looseners

Prepare your joints for activity by performing gentle circular movements with your hands, arms, feet, legs, hips, and head.

The goal is to activate the tissue around the joint, so start small and increase the size of the circle gradually. Warm-up circles are always gentle, never forceful.

Pre-Run

Run 400m very easy. Quickly check your posture from head to toe: head and neck tall, jaw relaxed, shoulders relaxed and chest proud, breathing deeply and evenly - in and out through the nose if possible; arms bent 90+ degrees with elbows swinging back gently as counterweights; abdominals lightly engaged to hold the pelvis level; feet landing mid-foot or forefoot, near or under your center of mass, quietly. Cadence is quick, stride is short and light.

Dynamic Activation

Lower Leg Muscle Activation

Get blood into your ankles, shins and calves - everything below the knee. Perform the following walking exercise first on your toes, and then repeat on your heels.

  • Forward walk - about 10 each leg with feet pointed:
    • Pointed straight ahead
    • Pointed out
    • Pointed in
  • Backward walk - as above

Upper Leg Muscle Activation

Gradually activate larger upper leg, hip and core muscle tissue. Movements are deliberate and balanced. Only increase the range of motion to the point where it is comfortable.

  • Walking lunges - slow and controlled, gradually increasing depth - about 20 each:
    • Forward
    • Backward
    • Sideways
Warm-Up Run

Run 400m. Start slowly and gradually build your pace. If your main set begins with 400m or longer repeats, your warm-up is done.

If your main set begins with high intensity intervals of 200m or less, run a second 400m including two 5-10 second strides at 100m and 300m.

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