As a runner, chances are at some point or another you’ve experienced pain in your hamstrings, knees, or lower back that just won’t seem to let up no matter how much you stretch. 
Interestingly enough, this pain may actually be stemming from inactive glute muscles.
Luckily, performing a few simple activation exercises pre-run can stop this pain in its tracks, allowing you to run powerful, strong, and injury free.
“So why aren’t my glutes firing?” you may ask.
The most common reason is that most people sit for long periods of time. The glute muscles tend to stop firing due to a lack of oxygen and tightened hip flexors. This, in return, puts more strain on the lower back, hamstrings, and knees, that imbalanced and stiff feeling when you head out for a run.
Even if you don’t have pain you can benefit greatly from these exercises. Waking the body up before you run is a game changer.
Add these simple exercises to your warm up routine and get those glutes firing.
Here are 4 of my favorite exercises to warm up before your run.
Aiming for 1 round of 30-40 seconds can take you from feeling flat to feeling like you are firing on all cylinders.
Stars
