How to get healthier with running: a beginner's guide

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Tips for those who don't dream of running marathons, but just want to keep fit by running.

Why try

Running is the easiest way to change your life through exercise. It does not oblige you to find a company to do sports, does not force you to visit the gym all year round, and does not force you to look for expensive exercise equipment. Special equipment is desirable but not required. Anyway, you can buy a pair of cushioning running shoes later.

Running helps you live longer. The correlation between exercise and longevity is evidenced by the results of a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology Leisure-Time Running Reduces All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality Risk. …

On average, over the past 15 years, people who run at least occasionally have lived three years longer.

It is important to separate wellness and sports running. As you know, the best is the enemy of the good. High athletic performance has nothing to do with wellness, so if you are already running and dreaming of a marathon, you can ignore this text. Below we will talk about jogging, the purpose of which is to improve the condition of the body.

Where to begin

If a beginner athlete does not experience tangible problems with the musculoskeletal system and the cardiovascular system, then he can run without risk to health. But it is still worthwhile to consult a doctor and undergo a medical examination. Heart defects, pulmonary and heart failure, a recent heart attack, kidney disease and severe hypertension are contraindications for running. Otherwise, beginners should listen to the body and measure and control their heart rate.

In the book "Theory and Methods of Teaching Athletics" edited by G. V. Grevtsov, it is indicated that an objective way to find out the tolerance of physical activity is to determine the dynamics of recovery of the heart rate.

In the first 10 seconds of recovery, the heart rate should decrease by about 70% of the maximum - from 200 beats per minute at 20 years old to 150 at 65 years old.

After 10 minutes, the frequency of contractions should decrease to 90-100 beats per minute, and after an hour it should not exceed the norm by more than 10 beats. Exceeding these indicators suggests that the load should be reduced and subsequently increased gradually, as physical fitness improves.

There are also subjective indicators.

Most people are able to notice when something is wrong with the body.

After eliminating contraindications and determining your training level, you should draw up your own training program. An inactive person can benefit from this 10 week program. Those who prefer to adjust programs for themselves should start with a 1: 3 ratio, where one is running and three is walking. For example, run for 30 seconds and walk for 90 seconds. The running time in this formula is increased every week.

The duration of the workout should be 20-30 minutes. In the same book "Theory and Methods of Teaching Athletics" the opinion is given that the total duration of training should not be less than 60 minutes per week. But doing yourself one hour workout a week will do more harm than good.

Workout

Any workout begins with a warm-up:

• walking or light training jogging up to 10 minutes, depending on fitness;
• dynamic stretching. It includes head rotations, circular movements of the arms in the shoulder and elbow joints, stretching the back with arms folded in a lock in front of you and spreading the arms back, tilting the body, lunges to the side and forward, circular movements in the hip, knee joints and ankle.

Incorrect running technique will provoke injury or cause a relapse of an old sore of the musculoskeletal system. Therefore, beginners must work out and master the running technique.

Let's start with body position. The back is straight, the body is toned and slightly tilted forward. The neck and head continue the straight line of the torso. The palms are folded into fists without tension. The arms are bent at the elbows about 90 degrees. The foot lands on the area between the toe and the instep, and not on the heel, is pushed off by the toe.

There is a technique for running short, medium and long distances. A participant in the 1996 and 2004 Olympic Games, marathon runner Leonid Shvetsov talks in detail about the natural running technique in this video.

The heart rate should be kept in the aerobic corridor 65–85% of the maximum, calculated by the formula: 220 minus age.

The workout ends with static stretching, which differs from dynamic exercises with one repetition for 20-30 seconds to maximize muscle extension. A detailed plan for the hitch is in the video below.

For those who are afraid of making mistakes in exercises and running technique, we advise you to contact a trainer or an experienced runner you know, who will point out mistakes from the outside and demonstrate how to do it.

Equipment

Among amateur athletes, there are two opposing points of view. Some believe that specialized sportswear from well-known manufacturers is more marketing than really helping equipment. At the other extreme, tech-focused runners forbid beginners from running in a cotton t-shirt, shorts, and sneakers.

The main principle is convenience.

Comfortable clothes will not disturb the runner's concentration, will not rub the skin, will not allow overheating or hypothermia, will not hinder movement and breathing.

The belief that the most suitable clothing is made of cotton is out of date. Cotton copes with air exchange, does not cause allergies, is comfortable on the body and can be used by beginner runners. But with prolonged training in warm weather, it quickly becomes saturated with water and does not take it away from the body.

Modern technologies better cope with the task of drainage and protection from wind and cold. Sports brands produce fundamentally different lines of clothing for the warm and cold seasons and use polyester or other synthetic materials. Such clothes are expensive, but they also last longer.

The choice of tight-fitting or loose-fitting clothing depends on the runner's preference. Outerwear should not be heavy. For protection from the wind in bad weather, a windbreaker is needed, under which there should be more than one layer of clothing.

Since the main running tool is legs, shoes are considered to be the main element of equipment. If there are no problems with joints, normal weight, correct running technique and a relatively soft running surface, you can use universal sports shoes: sneakers or light running shoes. But many city parks have paved or tiled paths, and beginners come on the run to lose weight, so it is advisable to use special running shoes.

Sneakers are selected taking into account the pronation of the foot.

Excessive pronation is flat feet. The wet footprint is usually solid. With insufficient pronation, the footprint can be very thin in the middle or even split into the toe and heel.

Each type has its own type of sneakers, information about which should be on the packaging. Stability Control shoes are designed for people with flat feet, Neutral Cushioning - for normal foot shape, Cushioned shoes - for athletes with excessive foot lift.

For runners with flat feet or overweight, shoes are selected that have high cushioning and stabilization of the foot to reduce stress on the ankle and knees.

For the rest, lightweight shoes are fine, but they should be cushioning for the surface on which you are going to run. Sneakers and very lightweight running shoes will not protect against strong impacts in the joints of the leg and will not be suitable for asphalt pavement or tiles.

Nutrition

Unsportsmanlike people often go jogging to lose weight. Therefore, a small calorie deficit should be observed during exercise. The main thing is not to do a hungry stress test. With two to three workouts per week, the body needs one and a half times more calories. The required deficit is calculated using a special formula.

Meals should be fractional and divided into six meals.

50% of the diet should be complex carbohydrates, 30% - proteins, 20% - fats (preferably fish and vegetable).

The last meal before running should consist of complex carbohydrates (whole grains, vegetables, legumes) and end at least an hour and a half before training. At this time, the use of fatty foods is undesirable.

The only useful intake of simple carbohydrates is considered the period up to half an hour after the end of the workout. At this time, you need to eat fruits, berries or some cereals (for example, corn), drink juice. Fats are excluded. Fatty foods are consumed outside of training time as fat is converted into energy at rest.

It is important to consume enough liquid both neat and in drinks. Green tea, coffee (but not to quench thirst) and table mineral water, saturated with electrolytes, which the body loses during exercise, are preferred.

During and after running, it is useful to use a sports drink - isotonic, containing salts and simple carbohydrates (4–8 g per 100 ml). They help to restore the loss of salts and glycogen faster. Isotonic can be prepared at home.