YOU WANT TO START RUNNING BUT YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE TO . . . ERRR. . . . START?!
YOU WANT TO START RUNNING BUT YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE TO . . . ERRR . . . START?!
When I first started running I didn’t really have a clue where to start, even though I am a Personal Trainer it was never an area of fitness training that I had looked in to or dabbled in. It all started because I was bored of the tedious, repetitive training that I had been churning out for the previous 10 years and it had got to the point where I had absolutely no motivation to enter the gym and I couldn’t be bothered to lift weights anymore, it wasn’t because I was lazy, it was because I was bored to death of it.
My first training run I embarked upon was catastrophic, I started my £11 Casio watch and followed a route I had planned on Strava (which was approximately 6 miles), I set off on my run and I had to keep stopping. Each time I stopped, I stopped the timer on my watch so it didn’t elongate my time. In total, with a few stops, excruciating calf pain and one breathless and beetroot faced body, I finished my stop start 6 miles (just under 10km for the cool kids) in 67 minutes. It was more like 73 minutes with all the stop starting, but I obviously decided to ignore that.
Over time, I started to get some back pain, shin splints, knee pain – basically from the lower back down, I was a mess. I just didn’t know what I was doing and looking back, I was making every single mistake in the book. Literally, all of them.
BECAUSE OF THIS I KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO GET IN TO RUNNING, SO I’M GOING TO TELL YOU WHERE TO START AND HOW TO GET GOING!
#1 – UNDERSTAND YOUR STARTING POINT AND FIND A SUITABLE PLAN THAT MATCHES YOUR GOALS
Firstly, understand where you are up to with your fitness and health. I came from a bodybuilding (not competitive) background and I had no cardiovascular fitness what so ever so my base line was low. You may be different, for example; if you come from a crossfit background then you’ll have a better cardiovascular base than I did and be strong and healthy. If this is all totally brand new to you then that’s fine (congratulations on getting started by the way, I’m extremely proud of you!). Just respect your position and you will soon make progress in your running if you find and implement a suitable plan for your starting point. This will make sure that you never feel out of your depth or disheartened with your training.
#2 – INVEST IN THE CORRECT FOOTWEAR
This does not have to be an amazing pair of asics or new balance trainers, it just needs to be a pair of suitable running trainers that fit. Don’t be fooled in to paying £200 for your first pair of shoes, you really don’t need to. Good footwear will save your joints and will make running a lot more comfortable, again, making the whole experience a lot more enjoyable.
#3 – WARM UP AND COOL DOWN
Your warm up should consist of some stretching of the thighs (quadriceps and hamstrings) calfs (gastrocnemius and soleus), and the lower back. You should also incorporate a steady run or a fast walk at the start to raise your pulse to increase the blood flow in your body to avoid any muscle tweaks or injuries. Once you have finished your run (as according to the plan you have found yourself), incorporate a cool down to gradually decrease your heart rate. After you’ve cooled down, finish off by going through a stretch routine to once again reduce your risk of injury. Avoiding injury at the start of your training will go an awful long way to giving you a positive running experience in the future.
#4 – INCORPORATE STRENGTH TRAINING TWICE A WEEK
This will make your running a lot more comfortable and a lot easier if you take part in strength training on regular basis. If you neglect your strength training, faults in how your body moves will start to show through in the form of aches, pains and injuries (hence the state of my lower body in my early days of running). Again, assisting in avoiding injury will be very beneficial going forward, and if you decide at some point that you want to focus on reducing your performance times then strength training is an excellent tool in doing that.
IF YOU NEED ABSOLUTELY ANY HELP WITH ALL OF THIS THEN THIS IS WHAT I WANT YOU TO DO;
E-mail me on chris@chrisredmondpt.co.uk or head to the contact form at www.chrisredmondpt.co.uk and please get in touch with me and I’ll assist you in any way possible! Do not hesitate in doing so, I’m genuinely happy to give you as much time as you need!
