Running warmup: how to warm up before a run

A good running warmup is mostly just running slowly first. Ten to fifteen minutes of easy jogging covers it before an easy run. Before anything fast, add a few drills and a few strides. That's the whole routine, and it takes less time than finding a parking spot at the track.

Most people get it wrong in one of two directions. Either they skip it entirely and spend the first mile of every workout feeling like they're running in wet sand, or they do a 25-minute stretching ritual that leaves them cold by the time they start. This guide covers why a running warmup matters, a routine you can use, how to scale it for different sessions, and what to leave out. If you'd rather have the warm-ups planned for you, that's part of what an app for runners who don't want to quit the gym does.

Do you really need a running warmup?

For hard sessions and races, yes. For easy runs, the first few minutes of the run can be the warm-up.

The evidence that warming up helps is reasonable. A systematic review and meta-analysis of 32 high-quality studies found warming up improved performance in 79% of the criteria examined, with little evidence that it's harmful (Fradkin, Zazryn and Smoliga, 2010). A later review of warm-up strategies describes the mechanisms: active warm-ups raise temperature and produce metabolic and neural changes that leave you better prepared for the task ahead (McGowan et al., 2015). The same review notes that a lot of warm-up practice has grown from coach and athlete experience rather than from research, so the details below are coaching practice, not lab-tested law.

If you're just starting out with a gentle first program, the warm-up is simple: walk briskly for five minutes, then start running slowly. That's enough. The drills and strides come later, once you're running faster sessions.

Drills are where a warm-up gets more specific, and a guide to running drills covers the routine and what the evidence does and doesn't support.

A running warmup routine

This is the full version, for intervals, tempo runs, hill sessions and races.

A few notes on each step:

• ›The jog is easy. Zone 1 to 2, conversational. It's not a hidden extra workout.
• ›Drills are short and sharp. If you're unsure what is a skip in a running drill, it's a rhythmic skip with an exaggerated knee drive and a quick foot strike. Two sets each is plenty.
• ›Strides bridge the gap to pace. If you're wondering what are strides, they're short accelerations to roughly the pace you could hold for a mile, relaxed, not all-out.

Total: about 20 minutes. Less if the session is shorter or easier.

Warmup for running, by session type

Not every run needs the full routine. Scale the warm-up to how hard the session is.

The rule: the shorter and faster the session, the more warm-up it needs. A marathon starts slowly anyway, so a long warm-up just burns fuel. A 5K starts fast, so you need to be ready on the gun. This breakdown of fartlek, tempo and intervals covers what each of those hard sessions is for.

Hill sprints are the extreme case. They're short, near-maximal efforts, so never do them cold. Our guide to hill sprints covers the full session.

Static vs dynamic stretching before a run

Static stretching, holding a stretch for 30 seconds or more, used to be the default warm-up. The evidence has moved on.

• ›Long static stretches can dull performance in the short term. A systematic review found that static stretching of 60 seconds or more per muscle group produced larger performance decreases (-4.6%) than stretches under 60 seconds (-1.1%), while dynamic stretching produced small improvements when done within minutes of activity (Behm et al., 2016). When studies added dynamic activity after stretching, there was no clear effect.
• ›Dynamic stretching can help runners. In a small crossover study of 12 recreational distance runners, a warm-up of 5 minutes of running plus 10 minutes of dynamic stretching improved running economy and time to exhaustion compared with running alone, while static stretching didn't produce significant improvements (Panascì et al., 2025).

Practical version: if you like static stretching and you're doing an easy run, short holds won't hurt. Before a hard session, swap long holds for leg swings, walking lunges and drills. Save longer stretching for after the run or another time of day.

Running warmup for runners who lift

If you lift, a few adjustments:

• ›Running after lifting. If you've just done upper body, a short jog is enough. After a lower-body session, start the run very easy and skip anything fast.
• ›Lifting after running. The run is your general warm-up. Do a few warm-up sets of your first lift and go.
• ›Before a leg session. Five minutes of easy jogging plus a few skips and hill sprints or jumps makes a better warm-up than ten minutes on a bike.

Special cases

Morning runs. Allow longer. Nobody's fast five minutes after getting out of bed, so add five minutes to the easy jog before any fast running.

Cold weather. Warm up indoors if you can, with drills or a few minutes on a bike, and keep layers on until the session starts.

Hilly routes. If your route starts uphill, warm up on the flat first. Hill running explained in one line: the slope raises effort fast, so you want to arrive warm.

Asthma or breathing problems. If you have asthma, ask your doctor how your warm-up and any medication should fit together. How to breathe when running with asthma is a medical question before it's a coaching one.

Races with long waits. If there's a long gap between your warm-up and the start, keep warm with layers and a few strides or skips close to the gun.

Warming down

The other end of the session is simpler. A warm up and cool down for running are usually prescribed together, but the cool-down is just five to ten minutes of easy jogging or walking so you're not standing still and gasping.

Common running warmup mistakes

• ›No warm-up before a hard session. The first rep becomes the warm-up, and it's a bad one.
• ›Warming up too hard. The jog should be easy. If you're tired before the session, you've done a second workout.
• ›Too long a gap. Finishing your warm-up 30 minutes before the start undoes most of it.
• ›Long static stretches before fast running. Swap them for dynamic movement.
• ›Skipping strides. They're the step that gets you from jogging to pace. Three or four is enough.

How exrsz handles warm-ups

exrsz builds a periodized plan from your goal, schedule, level and equipment, with running and lifting balanced in one plan. Hard runs come with the warm-up they need, easy runs don't waste your time with one, and each week adapts to how you actually trained, with missed sessions reshuffled rather than crammed in.

FAQ

What is a good running warmup?

Ten to fifteen minutes of easy jogging, then a few drills like A skips and high knees, then three or four strides. That covers intervals, tempo runs and races. Before an easy run, just start slowly.

How long should a warmup for running be?

About 20 minutes before a hard session or a short race, and five to ten minutes of slower running before an easy run. Longer races like a marathon need less, because the first miles are run slowly anyway.

Should I stretch before running?

Dynamic movement is a better choice than long static stretches before fast running. Static stretches of 60 seconds or more per muscle can reduce short-term performance more than shorter ones (Behm et al., 2016).

Do you need to warm up before an easy run?

Not separately. Start the run slower than your usual easy pace for the first five to ten minutes and let that be the warm-up.

What is a running warmup routine for a 5K race?

Fifteen to twenty minutes of easy jogging, a few drills, and three or four strides, finishing five to ten minutes before the start so you're warm but not tired.