You only need 7 moves to stretch your entire lower body with this mobility routine for runners

Although this is not the case for everyone, runners generally love running but not much else. By this, I mean supporting strength and stretching work, which can be vital to helping you improve as a runner, as well as helping you avoid injury.

I’m a marathon runner, and I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t do enough of this kind of maintenance training. I asked an expert about a strength training for runners before, which helped, but my stretching routine has been the same for years—I just do it yoga routine for runners from YouTube again and again

Hoping to improve post-run stretching in particular, I turned to certified personal trainer and founder Stretchergia Ramon Felix for advice. Stretchergy is an online platform that offers stretching treatments for a variety of purposes, one of which is to improve athletic performance. Felix created this 7-move post-run mobility routine to help you run better and stay flexible.

Ramon Felix’s 7-Routine Mobility Program for Runners

You can do this routine either right after your run, or throughout the week, or ideally both. It doesn’t take long to master the moves, and you’ll feel the benefits both during and outside of running.

You need a foam roller for the first movement in the routine, and some tape to wrap around the leg for the hamstring stretch—you can use a belt or yoga strap for this. Other than that, the only other equipment you might need is a yoga mat for the floor stretches.

Felix has provided photos of all the stretches that can be used to get the position right, along with tips for each. There are no hard and fast guidelines for how long to do each stretch, but try to do each stretch for 30-60 seconds, and if you can, aim to go deeper into the stretch during that time period.

The routine is designed to focus on each of the major lower body muscle groups you use while running in turn, making it intuitive to understand and follow. If you have one area that you know gives you more grief than others, for me it’s the hips, then maybe focus on stretching longer.