🏃🏽‍♀️ Why I Warm Up Differently Now

Full disclosure (that will likely surprise no one): I, like probably many of you, never really “warmed up” before heading out to ride or run. Maybe a little when I lifted — but barely. Why? Because I thought it was boring and felt like a waste of time. Sure I would warm up before a race, but that was different. I needed all cylinders firing when the gun went off. Now, at 57, I treat every workout a bit like a race in that I don’t skip the warm up. And it’s been making a big difference.

I think that’s why, in my 50s, I have fewer niggles and “itis” issues, even when I start ramping up the volume on my training load, than I did in my 40s or even my 30s. (It’s almost as if I should have been warming up then, too…but older, wiser, and all that.)

The Case for a “RAMPed” Warm Up

The fact is, our muscles and connective tissues need more care in midlife and with the hormonal changes of the menopause transition. As estrogen declines, tendons lose collagen synthesis capacity and become stiffer and less elastic. We become more vulnerable to injury. General muscle stiffness also rises at this time. Hormone therapy may help with some general musculoskeletal issues related to menopause. But it’s not a magic bullet and not everyone feels the same benefits. You still need to step in and provide some extra assistance. 

That’s where the warmup comes in. As I’ve mentioned previously, I’m a huge Tonal fan for resistance training workouts. And I credit the strength training for runners workouts programmed by endurance athlete Kristina Centenari for helping me build and maintain mobility, strength, and durability for the trail marathons I’ve been training for. She includes 2- to 3-minute structured warmups (yes, that’s all it takes) in every single session. Though she doesn’t label them specifically, they follow an evidence-backed framework known as RAMP, short for raise, activate and mobilize, and potentiate. 

It looks like this: 

• Raise: light cardio to raise muscle temperature. I walk a bit. Jog in place. Just get some blood moving and lubricate my joints.

• Activate and Mobilize: dynamic, sport-specific movements like leg swings, walking lunges, hip circles, band work. This just feels like working out the kinks and making sure my muscles are ready to go through their range of motion. 

• Potentiate: a few short, higher-effort primer movements like light strides, a couple of jump squats, or some skater bounds. Just switching on the central nervous system and those fast-twitch muscles. 

Since I’m often dashing from my desk to the trail for a lunchtime run, this is 5 minutes or so really well spent, and I can feel the difference in how easy and smooth those first steps feel as I start my run. 

What About a Cool Down?

I am also more diligent about putting in a proper cool down. Again, it takes very little time. I just slow down to a walk when I’m done then perform a few stretches, particularly for my hips, hamstrings, quads, and calves before showering up and getting back to work. 

I share all this especially as I hear from more of you who are like, “This is all too much! How can I fit in mobility and strength and all these other things I’m supposed to do now?!” I totally get it. And I’m here to say, it doesn’t have to be a full-time job or another complete workout. Plus, I firmly believe that these few minutes — and it’s truly just a few minutes — worked into my regular workout routine prevent me from developing overuse aches, pains, and injuries that would actually take more time to contend with.

In the end, giving ourselves just a little more TLC is what helps us continue doing what we love without long-term disruption.