Runner's Warmup takes running apart, warms up the pieces, and hands them back assembled. Seven exercises at 10 reps each, all below the waist because that is where running lives: hip rotations, leg swings, side leg raises, calf raises, march steps, high knees and butt kicks. No upper body block, no apologies for it - a runner's shoulders will survive the next 5K, but cold hips and ankles will file complaints by the second kilometer.
The structure moves from loosening the joints to rehearsing the gait. Hip rotations and leg swings come first: the rotations circle the hip in its socket, and the swings take it through the exact front-to-back pendulum arc that every stride is built on. Side leg raises wake the outer hip stabilizers - the small muscles that keep your pelvis level every time one foot leaves the ground, which in running is always. Calf raises prepare the ankles and Achilles, the springs that absorb and return energy on every footfall. Then the gait reassembles in three stages: march steps establish the knee-drive pattern at walking tempo, high knees sharpen the front half of the stride, and butt kicks finish with the back half - heel to glute, the recovery phase of every step you are about to take. By the last rep, you have already run, just in slow motion and one piece at a time.
Circle the hips wide, and swing the legs loose and pendulum-like - momentum is welcome in leg swings, it is the one exercise here where swinging is the technique. Keep the side leg raises strict with a tall torso. Pause at the top of each calf raise. Run the final three exercises as a quality ramp: march with full knee height, drive the high knees to hip level without leaning back, and flick the butt kicks lightly off the balls of your feet - light, springy, and pointed the same direction as your run.
The first kilometer always tells the truth about your warmup - this one makes sure it has nothing to report.
Make it Harder: Your run is waiting - if you want a longer ramp, finish with 20 extra high knees and start slow instead.
Make it Easier: Hold a wall for the leg swings and side leg raises, and march instead of the high knees.
