I don't really warm-up unless I'm going for a high intensity, short duration workout. I might take the first couple of tenths of mile to get into a moderate pace by using a higher turnover and shorter steps ... but again, if you're not doing a high intensity workout how much warm-up do you need?
If it's cold outisde, and you're layered, your muscles are still "warm"
(98.6F *grin*
) and your tendons are still lubricated. Many of my runs are moderate effort, so an "easy" warm-up for extended duration
(10or15min of a 45min run
) doesn't make sense.
I stay warm by layering. Long underwear, sweatshirt, windbreaker, sweatpants, 2 pairs of socks, stocking cap, ear band, and possibly another ear band around my nose
(which I pull down to my neck if I get too hot
). Worked pretty well on a 8F night yesterday ... although the incheas of snow make it more like running hills or trails than pavement.
Seriously, I've played sports all my life, and studied related fields
(Bio, ExPhys, etc
) and two of the activities that seem
(IMO
) over-prescribed are [1] stretching and [2] warm-up. Your body gets warmed up pretty darn quick, and a minimal amount of stretching builds and maintains flexibility.
Edited by TripleThreat 2007-02-08 7:34 PM