Triathlon Training
Running Warm-Up Routine

Phase 1: Body Loosening Exercises
Loosen the ligaments and tendons around your main joint systems. Do each of these 10 times in each direction:

1. Ankle Circles - One at a time, keep your toe on ground in back of your body.
2. Knee Circles - Put your hands on your knees and move both together in small circles
3. Hip Circles - Tricky to learn, you want to rotate the top of your leg bone in the hip socket. Leave your feet flat on the ground and move your knee in a circle, focusing on allowing your bone to move around in the hip socket. Once you get the hang of it, you can do both legs at once, in opposite directions
4. Pelvic Circles - Hands on hips, circle in both directions. This looks like a belly dance gone bad.
5. Spine Rolls - Bend over with a straight back (bend your arms and hold the opposite elbow with your hand to reisist the urge to touch the floor - we are not stretching our legs here), flop over loose, and then roll up from the lower spine, one vertebra at a time.
6. Upper Spine Circles - Hold hips and ribs steady, hands on head, rotate upper core in small circles.
7. Arm Swing: With one leg behind the other, rotate around your spine, allowing your arms to swing and gently tap you in the back as you complete your rotation to both sides.

Phase 2: Muscle Activation
Run (or walk) at a relaxed pace for 5 minutes. This should get you into your low aerobic zone (Zone 1).

Back to Indoor Triathlon Training.