Warm-Ups: Long Distance vs. Sprints

When it comes to warm-ups, many people have long lists of exercises and drills that they feel they must do before competition. However, is all this necessary? The answer depends on running duration/distance. Let’s take a look at what warm-ups do and how to do them for both long distance running and sprinting.

Long Distance Warm-up: There’s a lot of things thrown around when people talk about warm-ups that just aren’t true. Many people implement warm-ups to reduce injury risk and improve performance.However, the research isn’t very clear in either of these aspects. Some studies show positive response to injury and performance while, others show none (2,3,4). What we do see with performance is that static (long held) stretching actually leads to a decrease in performance (1).

With the evidence so muddied, a recommendation for warm-ups is vague. With the possibility of improved performance and reduced injury risk and little negative effect, it’s worth doing one before races and workouts. The question is how. Warm-ups should prepare you for the activity (3). If you’re happy with a laundry list of exercises and drills, perfect, they’ll prepare you just fine. If you want to do the least amount possible, a fast walk is the closest thing we have to running and will prepare you just as well.

The one exception to the “do what you please” warm-up strategy comes with the 800m race (3). One study found that a 200m at race pace prior to the race improved 800m time. The study attempts to generalize running 1/4 of the race at race pace before all mid-distance races to improve performance. However, the thought of 400m before a mile makes me question that theory. It seems like a good way to start a race already tired.

The decision is yours on warm-ups for long distance running, just make sure there’s no static stretching.

Short Distance Warm-up: The research behind short distance warm-ups was very surprising. Not just in their recommendations but how strong and well supported the claims were. Several studies showed that completing high intensity sprints, lifts and plyometrics before competition improved sprinting performance (3). With sprinting they found 5x40m sprints at 90-95% max were more beneficial to 60m racing performance than just 1x40m. When looking at lifting 4 studies found that lifting 1 set of 60-90% 1RM improved 20, 30 and 40 meter running performance. Finally, 2 studies found that 1×3 and 2×5 box jumps improved 20 and 50 meter sprinting performance between 2 and 5%.

With all these findings, the decision again comes down to you. Which one do you prefer and which are you able to implement. Odds are, you may only be able to sprint if your track doesn’t have a squat rack/weights, or bench/plyobox sitting in the warm-up area. Regardless, all of them will give your body a high intensity stimulus to prepare you for competition. Play around with each and find out which one you prefer.

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References:

1. Behm DG, Chaouachi A. A review of the acute effects of static and dynamic stretching on performance. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2011 Nov;111(11):2633-51. doi: 10.1007/s00421-011-1879-2. Epub 2011 Mar 4. PMID: 21373870.

2. Jamtvedt G, Herbert RD, Flottorp S, Odgaard-Jensen J, Håvelsrud K, Barratt A, Mathieu E, Burls A, Oxman AD. A pragmatic randomised trial of stretching before and after physical activity to prevent injury and soreness. Br J Sports Med. 2010 Nov;44(14):1002-9. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.2009.062232. Epub 2009 Jun 11. Erratum in: Br J Sports Med. 2012 Jul;46(9):688. PMID: 19525241.

3. McGowan CJ, Pyne DB, Thompson KG, Rattray B. Warm-Up Strategies for Sport and Exercise: Mechanisms and Applications. Sports Med. 2015 Nov;45(11):1523-46. doi: 10.1007/s40279-015-0376-x. PMID: 26400696.

4. Yeung SS, Yeung EW, Gillespie LD. Interventions for preventing lower limb soft-tissue running injuries. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2011 Jul 6;(7):CD001256. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD001256.pub2. PMID: 21735382.