Why does it matter? Shouldn't people be getting their workouts in however it works for them? For me, my time is limited and it's more important for me to get a long warm up and cool down in. I roll right into my workout from my warm up and straight into my cool down from my workout. I've been able to progress quite well.
If you have time to stop between the warm up and workout and do drills, stretching, activation, etc.. Good for you!
I roll right into a workout after a warmup. Might throw some accellerations (strides) and high knees/butt kicks into my warmup, but I never stop or spend more than a couple mins on that stuff. Switching shoes - Never!
Not saying I'm doing it right, but for those that do it differently, what sort of elaborate drill routine are you doing?
I've noticed this is a common thing among recreational runners on Strava, they roll straight from their warm up into their workouts. No drills or strides, no shoe change; not even a stop for a toilet break.
The few times that I've done this in the past (usually if I'm just doing a moderate intensity workout), I've noticed how hard it is to hit paces even below LT1. It's almost as if my central nervous system isn't firing, and I feel like I'm sprinting just to hit marathon pace.
Putting aside your own poor neuromuscular activation...
Are you sure that they are "rolling straight in"?
Many of my Strava posts include 3-5k or warmup running, a track workout, and then a cooldown run. Between those components would usually be drills, stretching, maybe a shoe change, going to the bathroom, etc -- none of this "on the watch" and the actually running would appear as continuous line.
For logging purposes I would title this something like "5x1km at 5k pace, 2:00 jog rest" -- with the fact there is warmup/cooldown being obvious from the distance and my own knowledge having done it. I would not upload them as three separate activities just because there is a break.
In short, unless you are looking at the total elapsed time, how do YOU know whether they are rolling straight in or not?
I've noticed this is a common thing among recreational runners on Strava, they roll straight from their warm up into their workouts. No drills or strides, no shoe change; not even a stop for a toilet break.
The few times that I've done this in the past (usually if I'm just doing a moderate intensity workout), I've noticed how hard it is to hit paces even below LT1. It's almost as if my central nervous system isn't firing, and I feel like I'm sprinting just to hit marathon pace.
Putting aside your own poor neuromuscular activation...
Are you sure that they are "rolling straight in"?
Many of my Strava posts include 3-5k or warmup running, a track workout, and then a cooldown run. Between those components would usually be drills, stretching, maybe a shoe change, going to the bathroom, etc -- none of this "on the watch" and the actually running would appear as continuous line.
For logging purposes I would title this something like "5x1km at 5k pace, 2:00 jog rest" -- with the fact there is warmup/cooldown being obvious from the distance and my own knowledge having done it. I would not upload them as three separate activities just because there is a break.
In short, unless you are looking at the total elapsed time, how do YOU know whether they are rolling straight in or not?
This is actually a good point. A lot of runners during workouts will stop their watch entirely for breaks/drills/etc, but upload the results to appear as one continuous workout. This is obviously a bit misleading.
I see people doing interval workouts, things like 5 x 1k at 5k pace with a 400m jog recovery, where they've just rolled straight in from their warm up jog.
Surely this isn't optimal.
Also, I've never heard of elites doing this - unless they're tacking on a few miles at marathon pace to the end of their long run. No elite is going to do a 5k paced workout without stopping to at least do strides.
I find the critical need for a pause is to allow blood to reach hands and feet.
Oxygen needs to go throughout the body to allow musculoskeletal system to work optimally.
A short pause/rest is necessary for this to happen.
Anecdotal but sometimes for a T workout I'll just go directly from my warmup pace into the T pace for however long I need to go.
For intervals I usually rest like 3-5 minutes to change shoes (if I need to) or to walk to the place I do them since I don't have a track available.
So mainly the intervals being on a repeated area vs the threshold workout just being wherever determines for me if I just jog right into the workout or if I stop to walk to where I'm doing it.
I've noticed this is a common thing among recreational runners on Strava, they roll straight from their warm up into their workouts. No drills or strides, no shoe change; not even a stop for a toilet break.
The few times that I've done this in the past (usually if I'm just doing a moderate intensity workout), I've noticed how hard it is to hit paces even below LT1. It's almost as if my central nervous system isn't firing, and I feel like I'm sprinting just to hit marathon pace.
So, I guess I'm wondering why recreational runners do this? And could they be detracting from their ability to do quality workouts by doing so?
Yes, of course you want to get the heart rate up and the muscles ready for faster runnng. But as an older runner I've gotten a bit later or not as motivated and I will walk/jog to warmup most days. I might do some sprints afterwards and once in awhile I will do a sprint or hill workout. The days I sprint or do hills I always warmup! By the way what is LT1? Stop using acronyms, especially those that make you look silly.
0/10. A warmup prepares you for your workout. Stopping after your warmup is dumb. You cooldown and then you really have to warmup again to have a good workout.
strides, drills, and going to the bathroom(!) should all be done before you even start your warmup.
In summary, recreational runners are doing it right. You are doing it wrong.
In summary, 20 minute guy is doing it right, 15 minute guy is doing it wrong.
How do you know they roll right in to their workout? I'll pause my watch after warm up, but I'm not going to upload several activities for one session. Drills and strides I'm not going to time.
Because their elapsed time is the same as their moving time.
My intention for the original post was to shed some light on warm up routines, as my suspicion was that most "rec runners" were doing this 'no-stopping' thing out of either compulsion - or because no one had told them any different (maybe they'd run in HS or never had a coach).
If people are time poor, it's understandable that they'd go straight into their workout; though I still think even a 30 sec stop allows your body to somewhat reset and prepare for the huge jump in effort.
I'm not exactly sure on the science (though I've heard Marius Bakken talk a little bit on this topic), but from my experience, starting a workout "fresh" (without jogging straight in from the warm up) allows me to hit much higher intensities, at a much lower perceived effort.
Therefore, if anyone has been unwittingly doing their workouts without stopping (because they didn't know any different), try it. Maybe do a few strides as well (with a walk back recovery), and then start your workout. I guarantee it will be a much higher quality session.
P.S. For those people asking "how do you know they don't?"
It's really, really easy to see the difference between a person's elapsed time and their moving time on Strava. Those are literally 2 of only 4 stats that pop up in the main stat box when you click into a workout on the web version.
And, If someone were to do drills and strides (properly) without stopping their watch, they'd have some very wonky km/mile splits before starting their workout.
I am recreational for sure. You might argue i'm more a jogger than a runner, though.
I don't use spikes, i don't use supershoes, so i don't see a need to change shoes between warmup and workout or even race.
I can do drills just fine without stoping or even slowing noticeably from my admittedly sloggish warmup pace. My "intervals" are only defined by effort level and duration so i don't see a need to optimize the pace of the first interval or whatever stopping, going to the bathroom, changing shoes, etc are supposed to achieve. In fact i don't see a need to optimize whatever, because after all i'm just a recreational something.
Also you won't notice from my strava, cause i don't see a need to share every single step i make with the whole world. Does that answer your question of Brownstonelaw?
A significant percentage of runners maintain a disciplined approach to their routine, but studies show that around 20-30% of runners may fail to follow through with their full workout after completing their warm-up. Factors such as lack of motivation, fatigue, or time constraints can contribute to this drop-off. However, consistent runners understand the importance of warming up to prepare the body for exercise, enhance performance, and prevent injury.
I do this, but not just to avoid a sluggish first rep. I only race a few times a year, so I like to have my workout preparation resemble my race preparation so it doesn't feel unusual in a race when I have gaps between my shakeout, strides, and race start. I jog for 15 minutes on a park's dirt path (which is also slightly easier on my injury-prone legs than the track), drive 10 minutes to the track, do my strides, and wait about 10 minutes before starting the workout. Works for me, as my first rep is usually only a little slower than the others.
This is honestly crazy. 20 minutes of idle time between the warmup and the workout?
Time poor 100%. I am neither hobblejogger nor elite (9:27 steeple, 2:28 marathon), and the question is always how to be more efficient.
However, I do have different warmups depending on the workout, ranging from 10-20 minutes. The faster the work in my workout, the longer the warmup. Short version is 5min jog, 1min tempo, and a few buildups until 10 minutes total as passed. Long versions is 5+ jog, 2-3min tempo, 3-4 buildups, 1-2x 200 mile pace, 5 min jog. Even if it was shuffling, I’m jogging 100% of the time between “stuff” in the warmup. This way I get the benefit of strides etc. as well as having 10-20min of more aerobic work than just standing around between. So for a harder workout, 20 warmup, 30 workout and 10 cooldown, gets you a decent amount of work in 60 minutes.
Help us build the best running shoe review site for a chance to win a LetsRun t-shirt.Help us build the best running shoe review site for a chance to win one of 10 LetsRun t-shirts.