How to Warm Up for Interval Run Training – Key Routine, Exercises, & Stretches

Warming up is an essential precursor to interval run training, serving to prime your body for the high-intensity effort ahead.

A proper warm-up enhances your performance by increasing blood flow to your muscles, elevating your body temperature, and preparing your cardiovascular system for the demands of running.

Ideally, begin with 10-20 minutes of light jogging or brisk walking, focusing on gradually building intensity to avoid strains and injuries.

When transitioning to interval training, a dynamic warm-up tailored to running can help improve your range of motion and activate the key muscle groups involved. Incorporating exercises like leg swings, knee lifts, and light bodyweight movements such as squats or lunges can effectively prepare your joints and muscles.

Remember to pace yourself accordingly as the aim is to increase your heart rate and body temperature, not to fatigue you before your workout begins.

Best Warm-Up Routine for Interval Run Training

Before beginning your interval run training, it’s crucial to prepare your body with a proper warm-up. A good warm-up routine increases blood flow to your muscles, gradually raises your heart rate, and helps prevent injuries.

For interval run training, a dynamic warm-up routine is key to prepare your body for the high-intensity effort.

Here’s a targeted warm-up plan that should take between 10-15 minutes:

Easy Jog (3 minutes)

Start with an easy-paced jog to gradually increase your heart rate and warm up your muscles.

Dynamic Stretches (5 minutes total)

• Leg Swings (1 minute): Hold onto something for balance and do 15 swings forward and backward with each leg, then 15 side-to-side.
• Walking Lunges (2 minutes): Perform lunges while walking forward, 10 reps on each leg, to engage the glutes and stretch the hip flexors.
• High Knees (1 minute): Run in place, bringing your knees up high, to activate the hip flexors.
• Butt Kicks (1 minute): Run in place, kicking your heels to your glutes, to warm up the hamstrings.

Strides (4-6 reps)

After dynamic stretching, perform 4-6 strides (about 60-100 meters each).

Begin each stride at a jog, build up to around 85-95% of your max speed, then decelerate to a stop.

Walk back to your starting point to recover before the next stride.

Drills (3 minutes total)

• A-Skips (1 minute): Skip forward with high knees, focusing on form and footwork.
• B-Skips (1 minute): Like A-skips, but extend your leg out before bringing it down, emphasizing hamstring engagement.
• Carioca (1 minute): Move laterally with your feet crossing over in front and behind for hip mobility.

This warm-up sequence is designed to elevate your heart rate, increase muscle temperature, and enhance your range of motion, all of which are essential for a productive interval training session.

Perform these exercises in a smooth, controlled manner to avoid fatigue before your main workout.

Tips for Warming up for Interval-style Training Runs

The purpose of the warm-up is to safely elevate your heart rate, increase blood flow to your muscles, and enhance your oxygen uptake. It’s essential to start gently and progressively increase your effort to prepare for the intense activity ahead.

Determining Warm-Up Length

When deciding the duration of your warm-up, aim for 10 to 20 minutes. This range helps your body transition from a resting to an active state. The length can vary based on personal preferences or weather conditions — longer warm-ups in colder weather can be particularly beneficial to prepare your muscles.

• Under 10 minutes: Might not sufficiently prepare your body
• 10-15 minutes: Ideal for most conditions
• 15-20 minutes: Useful in colder climates or if you prefer a gradual progression

Gradually Increasing Intensity

Your initial warm-up should start with a light jog or brisk walk for about 5-10 minutes. This low-intensity beginning helps to slowly raise your body’s core temperature and prime your cardiovascular system.

Progression of Intensity:

• 0-5 minutes: Walk or jog at a pace where breathing is easy.
• 5-10 minutes: Transition into a moderate jog where talking is still possible, but more effort is required.

Monitoring Your Heart Rate

Keep an eye on your heart rate as it’s a good indicator of how hard your body is working. Aim to reach the lower end of your target heart rate zone by the end of the warm-up.

Target Heart Rate Zones for Warm-Up:

• Beginners: 50-60% of maximum heart rate
• Intermediate/Advanced: 60-70% of maximum heart rate

Your perceived exertion should be mild to moderate. You should feel ready to engage in higher activity, but not yet fatigued.

Active Stretching and Mobility

Incorporate dynamic stretching to enhance mobility and further prepare your muscles. Dynamic stretches are controlled movements that improve range of motion and activate the muscles you’ll use during your interval training.

Dynamic Stretch Routine:

1. Leg swings (forward and side-to-side) – 30 seconds per leg
2. Arm circles (forward and backward) – 30 seconds per arm
3. Lunges with a twist – 10 repetitions on each side
4. High knees – 30 seconds

During these stretches, maintain fluid breathing. This airs the lungs and efficiently delivers oxygen to your preparing muscles.

How To Plan and Execute Running Interval Training Workouts

Planning and executing a typical interval training workout as a runner involves several steps:

1. Determine Your Goals: Define what you’re aiming to improve with interval training, whether it’s speed, endurance, or running economy. This will guide the structure of your intervals.
2. Choose Your Intervals: Decide on the length and intensity of your intervals based on your goals. For speed, you might do shorter intervals (200m-400m) at a faster pace. For endurance, longer intervals (800m-1600m) at a slightly slower pace could be more appropriate.
3. Plan the Workout Structure:
   • Warm-Up: Include a 10-15 minute easy jog followed by dynamic stretches and strides to prepare your body for the high-intensity work.
   • Work Intervals: Execute the planned intervals at the desired pace. The effort should be hard but controlled, typically around 85-95% of your maximum heart rate.
   • Recovery Intervals: After each work interval, include a recovery period. This can be active recovery (easy jogging or walking) or passive recovery (complete rest), depending on your training goals. Recovery intervals are typically as long as or half the duration of the work intervals.
   • Cool-Down: End with a 10-15 minute easy jog to help your body recover and reduce muscle stiffness.
4. Set the Number of Repetitions: Start with a number of repetitions that is challenging but manageable and increase gradually over time as your fitness improves.
5. Monitor Your Effort: Use perceived effort, a heart rate monitor, or a GPS watch to ensure you’re running at the correct intensity. You should be able to complete all intervals at a consistent pace without significant drop-off.
6. Hydrate and Fuel: For longer or more intense interval sessions, have water and maybe a sports drink or gel on hand to stay hydrated and maintain energy levels.
7. Adapt and Adjust: Be prepared to modify your workout if you’re feeling particularly fatigued or if weather conditions are not ideal. It’s better to cut a workout short than to risk injury or overtraining.
8. Incorporate Into a Training Plan: Interval workouts should be just one part of a balanced training plan that includes long runs, tempo runs, easy days, and rest days.
9. Recovery: After the workout, prioritize recovery with proper hydration, nutrition, stretching, or foam rolling, and ensure you have adequate rest before your next high-intensity session.

From Warm-Up to Work Intervals

Before you start the work intervals, it’s essential to properly transition from your warm-up. Begin with easy pedaling or jogging at a low intensity, gradually increasing the pace every couple of minutes until you’re at a moderate effort level. This will prepare your muscles and cardiovascular system for the upcoming intense exercise.

• Start: ~100Watts for cycling or a brisk walk for running
• Increase: Every 2min, add ~35-50Watts or a slightly faster pace
• Duration: Warm-up for at least 15 minutes

Pacing Your Intervals

Effectively pacing your intervals is crucial for a successful workout. Begin by finding a pace that is challenging yet sustainable for the duration of the interval. Intervals are typically run at a speed slightly faster than race pace but adjusted according to your fitness level and goals. Use a combination of perceived exertion and your standard paces to find the right intensity.

• Typical Running Intervals: 400m to 1600m
• Effort Level: Hard but not all-out, typically 85-95% of max heart rate

Managing Recovery Intervals

The rest periods or recovery intervals between the high-intensity runs are just as critical as the workouts themselves. They should be long enough to allow your heart rate to come down and to catch your breath, but not so long that your body cools down significantly. A mix of walking and jogging is often recommended to keep the muscles loose without straining them before the next speed interval.

• Recovery: Walking or light jogging
• Duration: Typically half to the full duration of the high-intensity interval, depending on fitness level
• Indicator: Recovery until you can speak a full sentence comfortably but are not fully recovered

Implement these strategies during the transition phase to ensure a productive and safe interval workout.

What is Interval Training for Runners?

Interval training combines short, high-intensity bursts of speed with slower, recovery phases repeatedly throughout a single workout. This training method strategically stresses your body to improve your running performance.

Defining Interval Training

Interval training involves alternating periods of intense effort with periods of less intense effort, or recovery. Typically, the intense periods, or intervals, last from 30 seconds to a few minutes, and are performed at a pace where speaking is difficult.

During recovery periods, you jog or walk to catch your breath and prepare for the next interval. This method enhances both your aerobic and anaerobic capacity. Aerobic capacity refers to your body’s ability to use oxygen efficiently, while anaerobic capacity is your body’s ability to perform in the absence of oxygen.

Benefits of Interval Runs

Engaging in interval runs can rapidly boost your VO2max, which is the maximum rate of oxygen consumption during exercise.

A higher VO2max can lead to improvements in your lactate threshold — the intensity at which your body starts to produce lactate — and running economy, which is the amount of energy you use to maintain a certain pace. These adaptations contribute to enhanced performance, allowing for speedier runs over longer distances.

By using interval training methods, runners can experience marked improvements in performance, and these gains often occur more quickly than with traditional, steady-state endurance training.