If you’re a new runner, it probably seems like you have a lot to accomplish, like getting in your miles, testing gear, fine-tuning your hydration, Sales & Deals Health & Injuries (what’s a fartlek?). Maintaining a consistent mobility practice probably doesn’t get a top spot on your list of priorities. But it probably should.
“As a runner, you want your body to move and perform at its peak with your joints utilizing their full range of motion,” Amber Rees, chief curriculum lead at Barry’s in New York City and co-founder of the Brave Body Project, tells Runner’s World. She explains that an inability to achieve the full expression of a runner’s stride—specifically, hitting your knee drive and hip extension—can result in movement inefficiencies that slow you down and, over time, cause pain and injuries.
The Benefits of These Mobility Exercises for Beginners
A regular mobility practice can support you as a runner (and in your everyday life) by keeping your joints healthy and functional, priming your muscles for activity, and combatting the hours most of us spend sitting Running Shoes & Gear.
For the novice runner or any athlete who’s looking for a gentle mobility Give A Gift spine, hips, knees, and ankles with six approachable-yet-effective mobility exercises for beginners. “Working through these mobility exercises will help prevent injury, improve form, enhance running efficiency, and help reduce stiffness and soreness,” she says.
Rees recommends doing these exercises often, either by incorporating them into your prerun warmup or postrun cooldown. “As a beginner, the more frequently you work through these mobility exercises, the better you will be able to progress to more advanced mobility work which will, in the long style, make you a better, stronger runner,” Rees says.
A Goblet Squat Workout for Better Stability: Perform each exercise below for the amount of time listed, resting 10 seconds between exercises. Complete 2 rounds.
Each move is demonstrated by Rees in the video above so you can learn the proper form. You will need an exercise mat.
1. Knee Hug to Hip Stretch
Stand with feet hip-width apart and shift weight to right foot. Without bending at the waist, lift left knee and use both hands to pull it toward chest. Pause, then slide both hands down shin to just above left ankle and open left knee to the side. Pause, then release leg and return to standing. Repeat on opposite leg. Continue alternating for 60 seconds.
2. Leg Swing
Stand with feet hip-width apart and place left hand on a wall or fixed structure, like a column or pole. Shift weight into left foot and, initiating the movement from the right hip, swing right leg forward until you feel a stretch in the hamstring (it’s okay to bend the knee slightly). Immediately swing leg behind you, stretching the hip flexors and quads. Continue swinging forward and backward, keeping upper body as stationary as possible, for 30 seconds. Then switch sides and repeat.
3. Cat-Cow
Start on all fours, knees under hips, shoulders over wrists. Slowly inhale, lifting crown of head and tailbone upward so that you come into a slight back bend. Slowly exhale, drawing in navel as you reach tailbone toward back of knees and draw chin toward chest. Repeat for 60 seconds.
4. Quadruped Hip CARs
Start on all fours, knees under hips, shoulders over wrists. Keep belly button drawn in toward spine, back flat. Lift left leg out to the left side, keeping knee bent 90 degrees and stopping at hip height. Then, lift left leg back and up like you’re doing a donkey kick. Circle left hip inward to complete the circle. Then reverse this motion, hitting the donkey kick first, then lifting knee out to the side, and back down to complete the circle. Keep the rest of the body as still as possible, making circle smaller if you have to. Repeat for 30 seconds, alternating directions of the circle. Then switch sides and repeat.
5. Hip Flexor Stretch With Overhead Reach
Kneel on right knee with the left leg forward and knees at a 90-degree angle. Let arms hang at sides or place hands on hips. Keep left foot directly below knee and tuck pelvis slightly forward. Push hips forward, further flexing left knee and stretching right hip flexor. Simultaneously reach left arm overhead and lean to the right. Pause, then push hips back and lower left arm. Repeat for 30 seconds. Then switch sides and repeat.
6. Down Dog to Cobra
Start in a high plank with shoulders over wrists, neck neutral, back flat, core engaged, and legs straight. Keeping arms and legs straight and spine neutral, lift hips up and back and draw chest toward legs. Hold down-dog position and pedal feet by alternately bending one knee as you press the opposite heel into the ground. Keeping arms and legs straight, lower hips to floor, press through hands, and lift chest into a cobra position. Hold for 2-3 seconds. Repeat, transitioning between down-dog and cobra for 60 seconds.
