Running - for Healthy People
Running Check-List Before You Start
1. Always talk to a qualified health professional before starting any type of running program. You need to assess your fitness level so that you can be advised on how much you should exercise and if this is the right exercise for you. Nutrition advise is also given.
2. Running shoes and clothing will be your most important running equipment. Clothing should be appropriate for the weather and climate if you are running outside. You should have well fitting, comfortable running shoes. As you progress and run for longer periods and distances it is advisable to invest in better quality shoes. Seek advice for these from those who specialise in running shoes.
3. To get your body ready for the increased activity and help limit injuries Warm up before you start to run. Stretch thigh and calve muscles and briskly walk - this will get your heart rate up.
4. 10 to 20 minutes approx is a good guideline when you first start out if you are new to this kind of exercise. To enable your body to become a customised, walking briskly and running for short distances is advisable.
5. If you want to do a 4K run set little more manageable goals that you can do to reach your big goal. Be reasonable with yourself and what you want to achieve. You will burn out too soon If you are too ambitious when you first start.
6. When you have finished your run its important to cool down. This helps in avoiding sore muscles, will increase flexibility and limit injury. Do this by Stretching again and walk slowly.
7. Diet. What you eat will give your body good nutritious fuel. Buy yourself a good book on nutritional resources, especially for sports orientated activity and follow the advice.
Enjoy it! If you find that running is not for you and it is a chore you will find all the excuses not to do it! In this case Just move onto a different form of exercise, just make sure you replace it with something else.
Running For Your Life !
Running is good for both fitness and health. Running can help to fight disease and reduce stroke and breast cancer. Regular
running is often prescribed by doctors for patients who are at high risk of osteoporosis, diabetes, and hypertension. It
strengthens the heart muscles, maintains the elasticity of the arteries, and lowers blood pressure.
It can raise the HDL or the good cholesterol of the body, reduce the risks of blood clots, encourages the use of 50 percent
of the lungs that often go unused, and boosts the immune system by creating a much higher concentration of lymphocytes or the
white blood cells that attack diseases.
It is the most accessible of all aerobic sports. It is also inexpensive and all you need are good shoes and proper running
clothes. It can reduce heart attacks, especially for pre-menopausal women and reduces stress.
Target Body Areas:
*Running is considered one of the best exercises for women especially if weight loss is the aim.
*This is effective in the thigh buttocks and belly areas.
*It involves all the muscles in the body because it is an intensive workout.
*The leg and hip muscles are worked during running so this would be a very good opportunity to lose weight and tone your legs.
*Running burns belly fat as it increases metabolism and can stimulate the burning of fat in the belly area.
*The abs are used while running and they contract and expand so that the fat in the belly area can be eliminated fast.
Running - Its Great Exercise But Is It The Right Exercise For Me ?
Running is very beneficial as we all know but this does not mean that everyone should participate.
Running is a high impact sport and can cause permanent injury to joints and muscles. If you are not that active at the moment this may do you more harm than good. You may be better off with a lower impact sport like biking or walking as this will not have such an impact on your joints.
Running is exhausting but you can get great results, so it makes it all worth it!
If you really want to get into running then have a fitness assessment and get advice on how to begin an exercise program that will quickly set you up for running on a regular injury free basis.
Health Benefits to Running
*Running strengthens your heart and prevents heart attack
*Running is a positive mood enhancer
*Running helps in reducing blood pressure
*Running keeps you generally fit and healthy
*Running increases the elasticity of muscles & arteries
*Running helps to increase lung capacity
*Running helps to deal with your stress levels
*Running aids sleep
*Running helps to control your appetite
If weight loss is you main goal a combination of running and dieting should bring quick results. People who run normally see
satisfactory, quick weight loss. Running will burn off more calories than walking and biking and you will burn off on average around 100 calories per mile.
So if you have checked with your doctor that this form of exercise is ok for you get on your running shoes!
Jogging for Healthy People
Jogging on a regular basis give a distinct good effect upon the general health, provided it is not over-done.
* Jogging makes the heart stronger. It increases the capacity of the blood circulation and of the respiratory system.
* It speeds up the digestive system and helps you get rid of digestive trouble.
* It counteracts depression.
* It increases the capacity to work and lead an active life.
* Jogging makes you burn fat and thereby helps against over-weight.
* If you suffer from poor appetite, jogging will improve your appetite.
* Jogging will strengthens the muscles of your legs, hips and back. However you will not get very big muscles from jogging.
* Jogging makes you sleep better.
Jogging also gives you physical and mental joy, provided you do not exhaust yourself. When jogging is done correctly, you will actually feel less tired when you have finished a tour than before you began. You get nice feelings in your muscles during the jogging and afterwards.
You will feel the wind blowing around your body. You will hear the birds singing, the music of running water in the streams, or the sound of waves dashing towards the seashore. During the jogging you will also get a euphoric mental feeling after some time.
Clothes & Shoes for Jogging
The type of clothes you were must be suited to the weather conditions. In warm weather, shorts and a t-shirt is enough. However, it may be useful to carry along an extra piece of clothe in a light back-pack if you run out on a long route, in case the weather aggravates. In colder weather you must add more layers of clothes. In either case, the requirements for the clothes are:
You should use light and soft clothes without any sharp sutures, hard edges or massive folds. They should sit fairly close to your body, but not so close that you feel squeezed, trapped, or so that your movements are hindered.
The clothes should give good ventilation for moisture and sweat and perspiration through the fabric. The fabric should ideally hold water totally out from the outside, but this requirement is difficult to achieve together with the requirement of good ventilation.
You should use fairly soft shoes, but with a good shape fitting the anatomical shape of your feet. The soles should easily bend during the normal movements of your feet, but support well against the ground. The underside of the sole should give friction against any type of grounds, so that you do not slide during jogging. The soles should buffer well against each impact from the ground.
Planning for Jogging
Jogging may be performed in a lot of ways
* Long distance jogging 6-20 km in a moderate speed on even roads or paths.
* Short distance jogging 3-6 km in a high speed.
* Jogging upwards in a steep terrain 3-4 km, in a speed adjusted to the steepness
* Jogging in a hilly terrain with paths going both up an down 4-8 km
It is advisable to vary the type of jogging from day to day. Then the jogging gets funnier and you get a variable type of training.
You should move slowly with little efforts the first few hundred meters to warm up your muscles. Then you gradually increase your muscular work and speed. When you have done half the route, you can take a speedy spurt using most of your capacity. If the route is long enough, you can take two or three spurts using nearly full capacity.The last hundred meters you gradually slow down again.
It is advisable to stretch out both before and after each jogging session, and not only the muscles in your feet, but your whole body 2 minutes before and 3-4 minutes after the session. When stretching out do the following movements:
* Bend forward and touch your toes.
* Kneel down on one of your feet, and stretch the other out backwards.
* Bend your body to both sides.
* Stretch out an arm, grab something, and turn your body round so that your arm is bent backwards.
* Shoot your abdomen foreword, so that your spinal column is stretched into a bow.
* Place your hands behind your neck and stretch your arms backwards. Then twist your body to left and right, also bend to each side.
After the jogging it is sometimes best to wait for some minutes before you stretch out, so that the worst tiredness has gone away first.
Jogging How Often and How to Begin
If jogging is the only sport activity done, a jogging session every second day is ideal. This is enough to give all the health benefits and increase your condition and endurance gradually, but without wearing yourself out. If you combine jogging by other types of sport activities, 2 times a week may be enough.
You should not be too hungry before jogging, but it is not advisable to take a jogging session straight after a big meal. The time of the day does not matter, but your jogging should not be the first thing you do in the morning.
If you are not accustomed to physical activity before you start jogging, it is advisable to consult a doctor before you start. You may have health issues that is not compatible with jogging activities, or that you must consider when doing your jogging.
The first times, you should only jog on plain ground and only for 10 minutes. Then you can increase the time, distance and speed, and choose steeper and more difficult paths.