Andy Fenack is a Physical Therapist at Finish Line Physical Therapy, which specializes in working with an active population of runners and endurance athletes. Andy earned his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Stony Brook University and is recognized as a Fellow of Applied Functional Science through the internationally acclaimed Gray Institute. He works with our athletes in New York City.

Proper warm-up strategies are key in optimizing performance during track workouts. Though running is globally a sagittal plane (forward/backward) movement, every joint and muscle in the body is actually moving in all three planes of motion (sagittal, frontal plane - side to side, and transverse plane - rotational), especially when running turns on a track.

In addition to doing a warm-up jog of 10-15 minutes and strides, focused mobility work in all three planes of motion on your joints and the soft tissue structures that attach to them is key to prepare you for the work ahead. Think of this as mobility work as opposed to “stretching;” you’re doing a lot more than stretching muscles here. You’re preparing the body to move in ways it’s going to move during your workout.

Pre-workout routines should be dynamic (moving), not static (motionless), as the latter has actually been shown to decrease performance. The key parts of the body that initiate and control motion when running -- and that are important for runners to focus on in preparation for workouts -- are the foot/ankle, hips and thoracic spine (the section of your spine from the top of your shoulder blades to bottom of your rib cage that drives motion through your torso).

Additionally, performing running drills in all 3 planes of motion is important, especially to practice the reactivity of the foot off the ground.

Here are four mobilizations to incorporate into your pre-workout routine:

Foot/Ankle Mobility.
Hip Mobility.
Thoracic Spine Mobility.
3D Running Drills.