We have teamed up with BETTER to bring you the perfect guide to preparing for the Mash Direct Belfast City Marathon and Half Marathon. The series is perfect for anyone preparing for the big day, from beginners to experienced runners who want to keep their fitness levels up.
We know the journey to race day is tough so we wanted to help you along your way. Whatever your 'My Marathon' motivation is this should help you on your way. The third video is focusing on dynamic warm ups which will help you prepare perfectly.
The video is the best way to follow the routine but we have detailed each exercise below for you to follow in the gym or at home!
Read more: Belfast City Marathon and BETTER showcase training guide for this year's big race
Warm up
Running is very demanding on the body and joints. Make sure you complete a warm up and increase the heart rate before you start your run.
Ankle rotations – full clockwise circles repeat opposite direction, this will help warm up your calves and tendons and prepare them for a workout.
Calves – hands on hips, stand tall on to your toes and back down on to your heels and repeat, this will help warm up your calve muscles.
Walk outs – keeping your hands flat on the floor, walk your hands out into a plank position, keeping your core engaged whilst maintaining a neutral spine.
Dynamic warm up aims to increase blood flow and functional mobility to prepare it for your run.
Single leg bounces on the spot, start with small hops moving into slightly bigger hops if possible, perform this in a controlled manner.
High knees to increase the heart rate, on the spot drive your knees into the air.
Heel flicks to stretch out the quads, on the spot kick your heels towards your bottom.
Forward lunge with a torso twist to the leg that’s in front, lunges work your legs and the torso twist will engage your core.
Want to spur on your marathon journey? We have the perfect prize for you! We have x5 1 month passes to BETTER and x1 entry to a Belfast City Marathon event of your choice to some of our lucky readers. All you have to do is fill in the form below to enter:
Can't see the form? CLICK HERE to enter.
Use the hashtag #MyMarathon across all social media platforms to tell us what you are running the marathon for. Whether it is 'My Health', 'My Mind', 'My Fitness', or 'My Charity' we want to see your journey progression.
Good luck!
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