So you’re starting out?
Here is my list of jogging for beginners running tips to get you going if you are just starting out.
I plan to add to these running tips as we go and would welcome hearing your best tips!
1. Have a goal.
It’s so easy to find motivation to get starting with jogging, continue your ‘new found habit’ for a week and then fizzle out to nothing. I can’t count the number of times I’ve started on my ‘new health kick’!
So what’s the best way to protect against this phenomenon of fading out?
Set yourself a running goal. Something that you can aim for and that will keep you motivated and focused on your training. For me, I will usually look ahead a few months and choose a fun run or mini-triathlon or something along these lines. I then register for the race. This act of not only choosing a goal but registering (and paying!) commits me to my training.
2. Follow a running program
Whether this is a running program to lose weight, to get fit, to just be healthy, having a running program – and then scheduling the program into your life is really important.
I believe it is far better for you to know exactly what you are going to do when you step outside for each session and this leaves no ‘wiggle room’ for getting out of it and means it is far more likely that you will do your assigned training session than if you weren’t following a program. When you have a program then you tend to make an effort to keep up with it and to make sure don’t skip sessions, whereas if you just head out and go for a jog each time then there is no real consequence of missing a session.
The other great thing about having a running program is that these programs are often put together by professionals – or at the very least people that know more about running than I do – and so they are geared toward achieving improvements in your speed and/or distance.
Most people these days are extremely busy, so another very important step in your running is to actually take the time to schedule the planned training sessions into your life. I sit down at the start of each week and slot my sessions into my weekly planner. This way, I’ve written then down and they WILL occur. (If it’s not in the planner, it doesn’t get done – my motto for life!).
3. Find an accountability mechanism
I was going to say ‘find a training buddy’ or train with a group – which is kind of what this tip is all about, however, to be totally truthful with you – I don’t run with friend or a group and I actually would prefer not to! In training, anyway. I do sometimes have a friend commit to doing a race with me. For me, my training is ‘me time’, I get to listen to what I want to and do the session I want to. I’m not saying this is the right thing, it just is – also, I live in the country with not a lot in the way of training partner or group options!
That all said, however, training with a group or a partner does wonders for some people. There are two main benefits that I see here:
- Accountability – you’ve said you’d be there, so what happens? You turn up! Exactly what you need. Accountability.
- Social – training with a friend or a group is great as it makes running into a team sport. It makes it more fun.
4. Vary your training methods
Another good tip is to vary your training. Use short runs, long runs, fast runs, slow runs, hill training, interval training, cross training….
This can really help you to make improvement, particularly if you combine your training in a running program.
This can also really help you to maintain interest in your training.
5. Measure your improvement.
I am a gadget geek and love metrics, so for me using software, websites, spreadsheets, GPS watches, heart rate monitors and so on, is all part of the fun of running. There are lots of online tools and programs you can use to do this too and even cool smartphone apps.
You can use all of these things to measure and record time, distance, speed and more! Using these tools gives me a geek fix and helps me to see my progress, which in turn motivates me to keep going!
6. Don’t overdo it.
Many people start off their new running habit with aspirations that are way too ambitious when it comes to the frequency, duration and speed of their training sessions. My advice here is, if anything, be a little ‘underwhelming’ with your launch into this new habit.
You don’t need to start with all guns blazing, telling the world about how you plan to run a marathon in 10 weeks time, how you’re going to run everyday, how you’re going to break the land speed record for…ok, you get it, huh? For most people, just to start out with an aim of 3 sessions per week will do, or perhaps running every other day. Start small, you can always increase distance, speed, duration of your session as you progress but if you burn yourself out, or worse still, injure yourself in the first week then you’re just doing yourself a disservice. Be nice to yourself!
7. Turn Up
The thing that makes you a runner is that you run.
You need to develop a long term habit here not a flash in the pan fad.
If you are a recreational or general fitness runner then consistency and commitment is more important than speed and distance.
8. Work on having good running technique
Relax and Look Up! That’s my mantra for keep my body in the best position when I find myself getting tired, hunching over or just tensing up my back and shoulders.
Check out this post about Running Technique for more details on running technique to maximize your efficiency and maintain good posture.