Editor: Bolysbek Dana
Author: Tulkibaeva Nursulu
Translator: Tursunova Balkadisha
As everyone knows, before any sport, you need to warm up properly. Good stretching helps to prepare the muscles for physical exertion, warns against injuries and rapid fatigue. Elizabeth Gardner, MD, orthopedic surgeon and sports doctor at Yale Medicine, explains how to properly organize a warm-up session.
When choosing exercises before running, you should give preference to dynamic stretching. It involves performing repetitive movements that gradually increase the contraction, blood circulation, and length of the muscles. For example: hand swings, in which the amplitude of movements gradually increases. In exercises, it is important to maintain symmetry, stretch both sides of the body, this also prevents acute injuries.
A few dynamic exercises from Dr. Gardner:
1) Lunge to the side. Stand in a wide stance so that you can feel the stretch. With both legs facing forward, bend your left knee and shift your weight to your right leg as you step to the right. Keep your body tense while driving. Then return to the standing position. Do 10 reps, then switch sides. In this exercise, the adductor muscles of the thigh are involved.
2) Activation of the gluteal and piriformis muscles. Stand up straight in a stable position, transfer your weight to your right leg. Lift your left ankle and move it to your right leg, so that the knee is a support for it. Put your hands on your left ankle to feel the sprain. Hold for about three seconds, do the same with the right side. Combine the exercise with walking at a slow pace.
3) Swing your legs, bent at the knees. Stand next to a wall or fence for support. Stand steadily on your right foot. Then bend your left knee up in front of you at a 90-degree angle. Keep your hips pointed forward, pull your knee up first to your chest, then pull it straight out behind you. Repeat 10 times, then do the same exercise on your right leg.
In addition to exercising before running, Dr. Gardner advises stretching after running, because lactic acid accumulates in the muscles after active exercise. Stretching promotes the elimination of lactic acid, and rapid recovery of the body.
Source: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-02-doctor-whyand-howrunners.html
