5 Dynamic Stretches for Runners to Boost Performance & Prevent Injury

Part of any great warm-up before you start out on your run should involve activities that raise your body temperature, circulate your blood, and mimic the movements that you’re going to be doing while running. Dynamic stretches for runners are some of the best exercises for you to know, because they can be done anywhere, anytime, and with zero equipment. 

Today we’re going to teach you how to do some of these stretches to help you warm up and cool down after a run. They’ll increase your mobility, prepare your muscles for running, reduce your risk of injury, and make you feel bouncy and loose no matter whether you’re on the trails or the pavement. 

First, what is dynamic stretching?

Dynamic stretches involve moving your body through a range of motion, as opposed to holding yourself in an end range position.

Dynamic Stretching vs. Static Stretching

Dynamic stretches involve actively moving your body through a given range of motion, such as swinging your leg back and forth or side to side. Static stretches involve taking a particular position to its end range and holding for an amount of time. Let’s look at their differences and how they might benefit or hinder your running performance based on the scenario.

Dynamic Stretching

Studies show that dynamic stretching allows an athlete to increase their range of motion by 7-10% prior to activity. It also reduces something called passive stiffness, which is a term used to describe the resistance a muscle or joint has to being stretched passively. So without even stretching passively, dynamic stretches can help you achieve passive range of motion.

Dynamic stretching increases range of motion, but it has also been shown to increase muscular strength, muscular power, sprint time, and vertical jump performance. This is in contrast to what we’ll find with static stretching in the next section, and are some of the reasons why dynamic stretches are always found in a correctly designed warm-up routine for runners.

Because you are actively contracting different muscles while doing a dynamic stretch, it helps to fulfill our warm up criteria of raising the body’s core temperature and preparing the muscles for strenuous activity. The intensity of a dynamic stretch is minimal, but is a good stepping stone for the more demanding work that will follow as you start running.

Static Stretching

Static stretches involve holding a given position for a specific amount of time, usually somewhere in the 15-60 second range. There are multiple studies showing the effectiveness of static stretching at increasing flexibility in the stretched tissues. However, there is evidence that static stretching can also have a significant effect on strength and power output.

Vertical jump performance has been shown to decrease immediately following static stretching, and for up to 15 minutes after. In fact, static stretching can have a negative effect on explosive performance for up to 24 hours after the stretches are performed. This can significantly alter the timing of your muscle contractions when performing a complex movement like running.

The above study results are heavily dependent on the duration of time one spends doing a static stretch. Short duration (5-15 second) holds do not merit the same drops in performance, and can actually be used intelligently to lower the resting tone of a muscle that is hyperactive (thus, hindering the runners form) as a result of overuse, tightness, etc.

Runner holding a static quad stretch. (Image credit: Oleg Breslavtsev/Adobe Stock)

So, Which Should You Do?

If you’re looking to warm up your body prior to running, dynamic stretches offer the most benefit with the least amount of drawbacks. If you’re doing mobility work or stretching after a run or on an off day, static stretches can be a great tool to help you build up passive range of motion in your joints and tissues. 

Doing too much static stretching prior to running can relax the muscles to the point of underperforming and not contracting with the same speed and power that they would have otherwise. This can increase your risk of injury, especially if your run involves any changes in tempo, intensity, or gradation.

Keep this simple rule in mind prior to running: Always be moving. Get your heart rate up, get warm, get loose, and sweat. Here’s how you do it.

Dynamic Stretches for Runners

Below are five dynamic stretches that you can incorporate into your warm-up routine, and can also be used together as a light workout that emphasizes mobility. A great advantage of dynamic stretches is that they can expose areas where we might be tight or weak. So pay attention to your body as you perform each of them to discern which might be of the most benefit to you.

1. Ankle Rocks

Directions:

1. Start in a standing position
2. Rock back onto your heels, pulling your toes up towards your shins
3. Rock forward and press up onto the balls of your feet, doing a calf raise
4. Repeat back and forth for 30 seconds

This exercise engages the muscles on the back of the lower leg (your calf muscles, gastrocnemius and soleus), which are responsible for the majority of your propulsion forward until top speeds are reached, as well as the tibialis anterior on the front of the shin (decelerates you and picks up the foot in mid to terminal swing phase of gait).
 

2. Reverse Lunge Knee Drive

Directions:

1. From a standing position, step back with one leg into a reverse lunge
2. Push yourself back into a standing position, and continue to drive the back knee forward and up into a knee drive
3. Step back with the same leg into another reverse lunge
4. Repeat on the same leg for 30 seconds
5. Repeat on the other leg

This exercise engages all the major muscle groups of the legs; glutes, hamstrings, quads, hip flexors, and calves. It’s also great for raising the heart rate and prepping the body for running, as using so many muscles at once requires a lot of energy.

3. Dynamic Quad Stretch

Directions:

1. From a standing position, bring one foot towards your butt and grab either the foot or ankle
2. Pull your foot/ankle towards you, flexing the knee and feeling a stretch in the quad
3. Lift your opposite arm into the air to stretch the side and engage the shoulder
4. As soon as you reach your end range, release your foot/ankle, lower your arm, and repeat on the other side
5. Alternate sides for 30 seconds

This quad stretch variation makes it more dynamic and full body. Not only do you get a dynamic stretch of the quads and hip flexors, the balancing leg engages your glute muscles, and you also open up the sides and shoulders with each alternation.

4. Hamstring Scoop

Directions:

1. From a standing position, walk one leg forward, resting on the heel
2. Keeping the front leg straight, and bending the back leg, hinge forward at the hips while keeping your arms back
3. In a smooth motion, gently swing your arms forward as you hinge deeper into the stretch
4. Lift yourself back up into a standing position, swinging your arms all the way to overhead
5. Switch the forward leg and repeat
6. Continue for 30 seconds

The hamstrings are some of the most commonly injured muscles while running due to their unique dual function of knee flexion and hip extension, which actually occur simultaneously at different times as you run. This exercise helps prepare the hamstrings to be stretched under load, reducing the likelihood that they will sustain an injury.

5. Runner’s Kick

Directions:

1. From a standing position, you’re going to mimic a running motion with this exercise
2. It starts by driving the knee up, and then allowing the foot to follow behind, kicking at the butt
3. This differs from a traditional “butt kick” where your knees stay down as your feet kick towards your butt
4. Remain light on your toes and try to get your pace up, similar to what you will be doing on the run
5. Perform this exercise for 30 seconds

These runner’s kicks help prepare you for the actual run by exposing your tissues to the kinds of forces you’re about to experience, but with a reduced intensity. It also helps your muscles work in concert with one another, which is what they’ll have to do the moment you start your run. 

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Written by Eric Lister – Certified Personal Trainer & Corrective Exercise Specialist