Warm-Up Exercises May Not Be So Important for Enhancing Submaximal Running Performance
Participants
n=7 trained male university athletes (age 21.3 ± 2.1 y, height 169.3 ± 4.7 cm, body mass 58.4 ± 5.6 kg, VO2max 73.33 ± 5.46 ml/kg/min)
Protocol
Treadmill run to exhaustion at 90% vVO2max (a pace the authors equate with 3,000-5,000 m track events) after one of 4 warm-up treatments: no warm-up, or 15 min running at 60%, 70% or 80% vVO2max
Primary outcome: time to exhaustion (TTE); VO2 and vastus lateralis muscle temperature also measured
Key Results
No significant difference in TTE among the four conditions (p > 0.05)
VO2 responded more slowly at the start of the run without a warm-up than after any of the warm-ups — a physiological effect that did not show up in performance
Vastus lateralis muscle temperature immediately after warm-up was significantly lower (p < 0.01) with no warm-up than after any warm-up
Authors' conclusion: submaximal running performance was not affected by the presence or absence of a warm-up, nor by warm-up intensity, although physiological changes occurred
Mechanism
Inference, not tested: in highly trained runners (VO2max ~73 ml/kg/min) baseline VO2 kinetics are already fast, and at 90% vVO2max the first minutes of the run itself warm the muscle, so the head start a warm-up gives to VO2 and muscle temperature is not enough to change time to exhaustion.
Practical Application
In 7 highly trained university runners (VO2max 73), 15 min of running at 60, 70 or 80% vVO2max before a run to exhaustion at 90% vVO2max changed nothing versus no warm-up — VO2 rose faster and the muscle was warmer after warm-up, but time to exhaustion was the same
For well-trained endurance runners doing 3-5 km-type efforts, warm-up intensity is not critical; a progressive start can replace a formal warm-up when time is short
Not from this paper: Barranco-Gil 2020 REF-278 found the same for cycling (no warm-up benefit for a 20-min TT)
Not from this paper; the base's own practice: warm up anyway for injury prevention and psychological readiness
Limitations
Very small sample (n=7)
Only highly trained runners — may not apply to recreational athletes
Time to exhaustion ≠ race performance
No DOI line in the entry; abstract verified via Europe PMC (PMID 28475548)
How this entry was checked and changed
Why this level
regraded 2026-09-27 from B+: crossover, n=7 (<15)
Content correction 2026-09-27
"Higher-intensity warm-up → higher pre-exercise lactate" removed (lactate is not in the abstract); muscle-temperature result added from the abstract.
Level B+ -> B (crossover, n=7); Sport "cycling, running, sprint" -> running.