Running Tip 3

Dear Friends,

Greetings and Happy Independence Day to all Indian readers! 

I hope some of you might have come up with your objective for running and some of you might have got your running kit also ready. If not done, no hurries, take your own time. Come back any time to refer to the tips 1 and 2. 

Before going on to my tip 3 which will make you get started, I would like to put a disclaimer - The tips I will be providing from here on are simple ones and easy to do for a normal person. But if you have any medical condition like breathing problems, physical weakness, cardio issues or any other challenges I suggest you to consult your doctor or physiotherapist before beginning your running journey. Get all the doubts in your mind cleared by your doctor before hitting the track. I will be using the disclaimer as a P.S. from the next tip onward. 

Running Tip 3 - Getting Started

With this tip, you can get into the action i.e. start running. However the action is split into three parts 

• Warm-up
• Go for a run
• Warm-down

i) Warm-up

Before any workout the first thing you need to do is to warm your body up and make it ready for the workout. Running is also not an exception. If you are a beginner i.e. if you are not into any sports involving physical activity, or if your profession demands you to be a sedentary worker, it is even more important to know the importance of warm-up. The muscles of the body without any workout or exercise for long will be very tight and are prone to sudden jerks/pulls if you exert some pressure. Warming up your body is a systematic way of making your body ready for the action. Warm-up comprises activities which can be called Pre-running Stretching exercises or simply Stretches. Don't get startled after reading the word exercise :). Stretches are very simple ones. If you have done some drill exercises in your school days, then all you need to do is to recollect them. In otherwords the stretches comprise simple exercises which you might have done in your school days. You may recall the exercises used to start from top of the body with neck rotation then slowly moving towards wrists, arms, hands then towards mid region of the body and ending with leg exercises. Proper warm-up helps avoid injuries due to sudden jerks or muscle pulls. Providing the list of stretches in detail may be a dragging affair for both you and me, hence let me suggest you few Youtube videos.  

1. Full body Stretches - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L2lnxIcNmo. Very useful video which touches upon entire body. If all the steps provided are followed, it would be a great warm-up for you. 
2. Stretches before running - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmBp05_DMrQ. Here stretches specific to running are provided. But they are enough on a day when you have very less time to wrap-up your running work-out. 

Though the warm-up is very essential but don't over do and get tired. Spending 5-10 minutes before every run is more than enough. 

ii) Go for a run

After three pages of prelude here comes the action :). To begin with, go with slow pace, it should be more of a jog than run. If you are running on an athletic track of 400 meters, then try to run for at least 2-3 rounds (maximum 5 rounds) without stopping. If you are running on a road then try to run for at least 10 minutes (maximum 15 minutes) without stopping. While running keep observing your breaths, try to breathe through nostrils as much as you can. After sometime the mouth will automatically open for inhaling more air, but don't worry, keep jogging. If you feel like stopping (After completing 5 rounds or 15 minutes or at any point of time earlier also), don't abruptly halt, reduce your pace, get into marching (fast walk) mode then gradually to slow walk before stopping fully. 

iii) Warm-down

Once you complete your run, it is time to relax and warm down. Warm-down is again a set of stretches but lesser in number than the warm-up ones. You can just repeat some of the leg related stretches which you had done during warm-up. Refer to the following video below which shows simple warm-down exercises - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9upLtceYDkY. Warming down after run is as important as warming up before the run, but it is often neglected. Warm-down exercises help worked out muscles get stretched and relaxed. They will help avoiding the cramps coming out of long runs. 

I believe this tip is enough for you to get going. I will touch upon the things to take care while running in the next few tips. 

Thank you,

Regards,

Chetan