Skipping and Running: Optimal Timing, Benefits, and Practical Recommendations

Should I skip before or after a run?

The optimal timing for incorporating skipping into your running routine depends primarily on your specific goals for the skipping session: as a dynamic warm-up, an active cool-down, or a dedicated plyometric training stimulus.

Understanding the Role of Skipping

Skipping, in the context of running, isn't just a childhood pastime. It's a highly effective movement pattern that offers significant benefits, ranging from improving coordination and elasticity to enhancing cardiovascular fitness. Depending on its intensity and purpose, skipping can serve different roles in your training.

Skipping Before a Run

Incorporating skipping into your pre-run routine can be highly beneficial, provided it's executed with the correct intent and intensity.

• Benefits as a Dynamic Warm-up:

  • Neuromuscular Activation: Light, dynamic skipping primes the nervous system, improving the communication between your brain and muscles. This enhances muscle readiness and responsiveness.
  • Increased Blood Flow and Core Temperature: It elevates heart rate and body temperature, preparing your cardiovascular system and muscles for the demands of running.
  • Improved Joint Mobility: Gentle skipping helps lubricate joints and increase range of motion, particularly in the ankles, knees, and hips.
  • Enhanced Elasticity and Coordination: It engages the stretch-shortening cycle, which is crucial for efficient running mechanics, improving your body's natural spring.
  • Injury Prevention: By gradually preparing your tissues for impact and movement, a proper warm-up can reduce the risk of strains and other acute injuries.

• Considerations for Pre-Run Skipping:

  • Intensity: If skipping before a run, it should be light, dynamic, and controlled, serving as part of your warm-up sequence. Think of it as a progression from walking to light jogging, incorporating various skipping drills (e.g., high knees, butt kicks, A-skips).
  • Avoid High-Intensity Plyometrics: Performing intense, maximal-effort plyometric skipping (e.g., bounding, depth jumps) immediately before a hard or long run is generally not recommended. Such activities induce significant fatigue and can detract from your run performance or increase injury risk due to pre-fatigued muscles.
  • Timing: Integrate 5-10 minutes of light skipping drills after general cardio warm-up (e.g., light jogging) and before your main run.

Skipping After a Run

Using skipping as part of your post-run routine can also offer distinct advantages, particularly for recovery or as a dedicated plyometric session.

• Benefits as an Active Cool-down/Recovery:

  • Gradual Heart Rate Reduction: Gentle, low-intensity skipping helps gradually bring your heart rate down, aiding the transition from high-intensity exercise to rest.
  • Improved Blood Circulation: It promotes blood flow to aid in nutrient delivery and waste product removal from working muscles, potentially assisting in recovery.
  • Maintained Mobility: Gentle movement can help prevent stiffness and maintain flexibility post-run.

• Benefits as a Plyometric Training Session:

  • Targeted Power Development: If your goal is to develop explosive power and improve running economy through plyometrics, a dedicated skipping session can be performed after an easy run, or as a standalone workout on a separate day.
  • Fatigue Management: Performing intense plyometrics when your body is already significantly fatigued from a hard run can compromise form, reduce training effectiveness, and increase injury risk. Therefore, if the run was challenging, save intense plyometrics for another day.

• Considerations for Post-Run Skipping:

  • Intensity: For a cool-down, keep it very gentle and low-impact. For plyometric training, ensure you have adequate energy and focus to maintain proper form.
  • Goals: Clearly define whether the post-run skipping is for recovery or for performance enhancement.

The Science Behind the Timing

The decision to skip before or after a run is rooted in physiological principles:

• Neuromuscular Priming (Before): Dynamic warm-ups like light skipping enhance post-activation potentiation (PAP), where muscle force production is temporarily increased following a brief, maximal contraction. This makes muscles more ready for powerful movements.
• Fatigue and Performance (Before vs. After): High-intensity plyometrics are demanding on the nervous system and musculoskeletal system. Performing them before a critical run can lead to central and peripheral fatigue, diminishing your running performance. If performed after, the quality of the plyometric session itself might be compromised if you are already fatigued from the run.
• Injury Risk: Proper warm-up reduces injury risk by preparing tissues. Conversely, performing high-impact activities with fatigued muscles and ligaments increases risk.

Practical Recommendations

• For Warm-up and Injury Prevention (Before):

  • Always include 5-10 minutes of light, dynamic skipping drills as part of your warm-up routine, after 5-10 minutes of light jogging and before your main running pace. Focus on controlled movements like A-skips, B-skips, and high-knee skips.
  • This prepares your body for the impact and demands of running without inducing undue fatigue.

• For Active Recovery and Cool-down (After):

  • Engage in 5-10 minutes of very gentle, low-intensity skipping as part of your cool-down. This helps gradually lower your heart rate and promote blood flow without adding stress.

• For Dedicated Plyometric Training (Separate or Specific Timing):

  • If your goal is to use skipping as a powerful plyometric exercise (e.g., jump rope, bounding, power skips) to improve speed and power, it's often best treated as a separate training session.
  • If combining with a run, perform intense plyometrics before an easy run, allowing maximal effort for the plyometrics without compromising the run, or after an easy run if it's a dedicated session and fatigue is manageable.
  • Never perform intense plyometrics immediately before a hard race or a key long run.

Key Considerations

• Individual Goals: Are you skipping to warm up, cool down, or build power?
• Run Intensity: Is your run a gentle recovery jog or a high-intensity interval session?
• Fatigue Levels: Are you fresh, or are your muscles already tired?
• Form and Technique: Proper skipping form is crucial to maximize benefits and minimize injury risk, especially with plyometrics.
• Listen to Your Body: Pay attention to how your body responds. If you feel excessive fatigue or discomfort, adjust your timing or intensity.

Conclusion

For most runners, incorporating light, dynamic skipping before a run is highly beneficial as part of a comprehensive warm-up, preparing the body for the demands of running and enhancing performance. Gentle skipping after a run can serve as an effective active cool-down. Intense plyometric skipping, aimed at power development, is best performed as a standalone session or strategically placed before/after an easy run to optimize training stimulus and minimize injury risk. Always prioritize your specific training goals and listen to your body's signals.