“Keeping your legs warm” is good advice — but not for the reason most people think.

Here’s a 60 second overview:

Warm tights or leggings don’t significantly warm the deep muscles that matter for performance or injury risk. To do that, you actually need around 15–20 minutes of moderate-to-hard running to raise quad or hamstring temperature to the levels that improve elasticity (studies at the end).

So why does warming up or wearing layers still help?

Because it affects the nervous system, not the muscle tissue.

Cold skin slows down nerve signals, reduces proprioception, increases muscle co-contraction, and makes your brain feel less confident in your movement. That “cold, stiff” feeling is really your nervous system protecting you.

Warm skin, in contrast, improves sensory feedback, movement coordination, stride fluidity, and confidence.

Warmth helps the brain run better — not just the muscles.

So yes, keeping warm reduces injury risk, but indirectly:
better neural control = better movement = lower risk.

Wear layers for comfort and neural quality,
not because you think it’s magically “warming the muscles.”

For a deeper look at this, read the full article here.