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Why should you warm up before a run? 🏃🏻‍♀️

Many runners skip their warm-up because they’re eager to get started (I totally understand!). But taking just 5 to 10 minutes to prepare your body can make a huge difference.

A proper dynamic warm-up gradually increases your heart rate, boosts blood flow to your muscles, and improves joint mobility 🫀🦵🏼 . This helps your body transition smoothly from rest to running.

The benefits of doing a warm-up before your run:
•Better running efficiency and performance
•Improved mobility and range of motion
•Faster muscle activation
•Reduced risk of strains and overuse injuries
•A smoother, more comfortable start to your run

Your first kilometer(s) shouldn’t be spent convincing your body to move. A good warm-up allows you to start feeling strong from the very first step 👟

Do you warm up before every run?

Same heart rate. Completely different pace. Pregnancy running is humbling 🙃

Years ago, pregnant women were often advised not to let their heart rate go above 140 bpm. If I followed that advice today, I probably wouldn’t even be able to go for my daily walks with Emma 😅🐕 It’s also worth mentioning that I’ve always had a naturally high heart rate. Even before pregnancy, running at 140 bpm is just never realistic for me.

Fortunately, we’ve learned a lot more since the old “don’t go above 140 bpm” guideline. Heart rate zones vary hugely between individuals, and the same is true during pregnancy. There’s no single number that’s automatically “dangerous” for everyone. Context matters, fitness matters, and most importantly: how you feel matters.

Pregnancy changes your cardiovascular system dramatically🫀🫁. Blood volume increases, your resting heart rate rises, and your body is working harder even before you start moving. That means your heart rate can climb much faster than you’re used to, even when the effort feels relatively comfortable💓. That doesn’t mean pregnancy is the time to chase PRs or push yourself to the limit. But it does mean that heart rate numbers don’t always tell the full story.

For a lot of people, this run looks ridiculous on paper: running for 50 minutes with an average heart rate of 185 bpm while pregnant. Yet I was running with my partner, chatting the entire time, and it never felt like I was pushing.

Pregnancy running taught me to stop comparing paces and heartrates and start paying even more attention to how I actually feel☺️

Can I still talk? Does it feel controlled? Does it feel good? What does my body tell me?

Sometimes that’s more important than the number on your watch! ⌚️🩷