Morning Jogging Tips for Beginners
For many people, early morning jogging is an essential part of their daily routine. They claim that it helps them prepare physically, mentally and emotionally for the day ahead. A well-planned jogging weekly routine will greatly improve your cardiovascular fitness and have many knock on health benefits. It is of course completely free, saving on costly gym fees and has just as much if not more benefit. Here are a few jogging tips to help get you started.
Starting Out – Morning Jogging Tips for Beginners
Many people never begin jogging because they can’t run any further than the end of the road and back. It doesn’t matter. Any exercise is better than no exercise and your stamina and running ability will gradually increase over a period of weeks if you jog a few times a week.Before you go for an early morning jog you will need to ensure your body is fueled. A heavy breakfast is not a good idea but something light and instant like a banana or cereal bar will be okay. Drink a little water but not so much that you feel it sloshing inside you as you run. Avoid coffee and energy drinks that may actually deplete your energy reserves.
Warming Up Exercises Before Jogging
The body needs to be ‘warmed up’ to prepare it for exercise. Anything that gets the blood pumping around the body and dispensing heat and oxygen to the muscles and organs is good. You can achieve this by performing some warm up exercises before jogging. Running or jumping on the spot will do this. A few light stretches are also a good idea especially if the weather outside is a bit cooler. When stretching, approach it gently and hold any stretches for a few seconds. Never bounce into stretches – this is more likely to injure muscles.Wear adequate clothing. When you are starting out you won’t be running very far and exposed body parts will make you more injury prone.
How to Control Your Breathing When Jogging?
You will find yourself getting out of breath very quickly when you first start to jog. To maximize your body’s intake of oxygen ensure your back is straight and you are not hunched over at all. Be aware of lifting your chest as you breathe in which will help keep your spine aligned.Many joggers recommend breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth for maximum efficiency.
Keep your head looking straight forward and your jaw and shoulders as relaxed as possible. Tensing up will use up energy.
Try and keep your breathing regular for maximum oxygen distribution and ensure you breath out fully to avoid carbon dioxide build up in your body. This is how you can effectively control your breathing while jogging.
How to Improve Stamina for Jogging
As mentioned before when you first start to jog you will not be able to run very far. Set yourself a time of say 10 minutes and run steadily for as long as you can. This may be less than a minute initially. Then walk until your breath returns to an even controlled rate and then start running again and so on until your 10 minutes is up. Don’t stop and rest between the jogging. Carry on walking as this keeps the body warm and the mind properly prepared.Gradually aim to increase the amount of time you are running and decrease the amount of time you are walking. Be patient. This may take several weeks.
Once you can run for the whole of the 10 minutes without reverting to walking, increase the time and repeat the running and walking pattern again.
Don’t push yourself too far initially as this will be counter-productive both from a physical and motivational point of view. When you get out of breath revert to walking before the point where you are gasping for breath. Eventually this will improve your stamina for jogging.
The Best Footwear and Sneakers for Jogging
What shoes to wear when you go to jog? If you are running on roads there is quite a large amount of repetitive impact on your back, hips, knees and ankles. It is important that you choose footwear that offers you a level of protection through shock absorption and support.How you run and how your foot is placed during this action will dictate the best type of footwear.
Good retailers of running shoes will be able to advise you and analyse your running gait through wear on existing sneakers. Sometimes these types of stores have treadmills so that assistants can watch how you run before recommending the best footwear.
Ironically, too much cushioning can actually place greater stress on ankles and knees as the running platform is too unstable and allows too much movement inside the footwear.
Key Points to Remember
- very light food intake before jogging plus drink some water
- warm up and light stretches
- adequate clothing
- relaxed shoulders, spine straight, regular breathing
- run, walk, run, walk over a timed period
- ensure footwear is adequate
Article by expert author ‘Deneice Arthurton‘
credits to: www.outofstress.com
