Running: the road to health

Even the ancient Greeks said: «If you want to be strong — run, if you want to be beautiful — run, if you want to be smart — run.»

It is clear that running in itself is not a cure for all diseases, but its positive effect on the body is undeniable. Running gives health, vivacity and working mood. Jogging in the morning is part of the Vigorous Morning ritual. Running is the perfect and free way to look good. It does not require special equipment or a place to practice. And this is a great reason to start running. What running gives and how to tune in to it, see →

There are many details in the correct, joyful and smart running. So,

When to run

When you like and want. If you don’t know, run at different times, experiment. Multiply the pleasure received by your desires and possibilities, the result is the optimal training time. You might like to run in the morning. At the same time, some people like to work in the morning, while others just need to wake up. Therefore, attention — do not overdo it.

Daily running is a good break and an excuse to take your mind off things. There is time to calmly think about pleasant things and plan rest and pleasures for the evening. If you like to train when you are already awake and warmed up, then this is your time.

Running can also be a good evening exercise. In the park or on the treadmill in fitness. Or maybe that evening pleasure. For example, walking together. Or chatting with friends — you run to the park, and your party is already warming up there. Hey! And they ran…

Where to run

Consider the main options.

In the gym, these are usually various simulators and a treadmill. Approach the instructor, he will explain to you all the main features and rules.

Stadiums with special coatings allow you to better focus on the process. More sparing for joints. And sometimes well protected from the wind.

Asphalt is a very hard and fast surface. Be alert to traffic and unexpected bumps.

The paths in the parks are ideal for walking and jogging. Both alone and in company.

Forest paths load the muscles more diversely due to the greater unevenness and diversity of the terrain. In addition, they are usually softer than gravel.

Run everywhere. Use several routes with different surfaces and terrain.

How to dress?

Dress warmly in the cold. Your temperature sensation is the energetic warmth of heated muscles. Anything above that is overheating. Below is an option to catch a cold. You can sweat, this is normal. Even if it’s very strong. The first five minutes you should not be cold even if you are warming up on the spot.

The selection of clothes is a very creative and responsible process. Roughly your list looks like this: pants and anorak made of windproof fabric, a set of warm thermal underwear, a set of thermal underwear, good thermal socks. Go to a good sports or travel store. There you will definitely be prompted for a specific model. A more budget option can also be assembled at home: a windproof jacket or a sleeveless jacket, thick sweaters (they are worn with the seams out, i.e. vice versa), double sweatpants, woolen socks. A hat or strip is necessarily worn on the head, gloves or mittens on the hands.

Basically, the knees, chest, nose (or rather the sinuses around it) and ankle are exposed to cold air. Accordingly, they receive increased attention. The knees and ankle joint can be rubbed with a heating ointment. Everything else is protected by clothing: warm knee pads, mask caps to protect the face. From prickly snow in the eyes and the bright sun will help special glasses. Cold throat — wrap yourself in a beautiful scarf.

Men! If the member gets cold, and this also happens, protect yourself additionally: windproof pants, anorak or jacket to the middle of the thigh, thick thermal underwear that attracts (but not strongly pressing) the sacredly protected place to the body. Previously, when there was no good thermal underwear, they put on swimming trunks over cotton underwear (so as not to rub).

In the warm season — a T-shirt, shorts or tracksuit. Bandage on the forehead, to protect the eyes from sweat.

In any case, it is better for a novice runner to buy ordinary sports shoes with a thick sole. If you have had leg injuries, then you can use shoes with additional ankle support for cross-country running. In all other cases, a kneaded, warmed up and trained joint copes well with the load.

If it is warm and the sun is shining, the temperature is from 17 to 30 degrees, then it is worth dressing as lightly as possible — sports shorts and, for girls, a topic or swimsuit. Guys generally can go bare-chested. At temperatures above 30 degrees, you must be careful not to get heatstroke or overheating of the body, you can reduce the time of jogging, it is desirable that there is where to find water nearby. In the scorching sun, be sure to wear a hat — a bandana is best. Lightweight comfortable sneakers, and socks can not be worn. If you are sure that you will not hurt your legs, then it is extremely useful to run barefoot. ”

At a temperature of 10 to 17 degrees: It is better to wear a tracksuit: pants and a top with long sleeves.

At temperatures from -15 to 10 degrees: Be sure to wear pants (you can jeans), then a T-shirt or a light jacket, and a light jacket on top. Also an indispensable attribute is a knitted hat that covers the ears. If it’s cold, then you can wear something else under the jacket.

At temperatures from -25 to -15 degrees: Dress in much the same way as in the previous paragraph, but be sure to wear gloves, and you can also wear woolen socks over normal ones. Wear all the same sneakers, but tightly laced up so that snow does not get into them. Do not climb into snowdrifts and do not run on ice, for the sake of your own health.

At temperatures below -25 degrees Only professionals can run, amateurs are better off staying at home and doing morning exercises.

In no case do not wear boots, always run in sneakers. As soon as you come from the street, immediately change into dry clothes.

Strength

Start gradually. We accelerated and now you can go to cruising speed. If you feel that today is not going, easily run any minimum volume for you. Or even just take a walk. Most importantly, try to have fun.

Listen to your body, it will tell you when to stop and when you can run more. Give your morning (evening, afternoon) workout as much strength as you see fit. Spend the rest on other good deeds.

Gradually trying your hand, determine the volumes and intensity of the load you need. Use convenient units of measurement for these quantities or come up with your own.

With experience, you will begin to feel the pace of running. This will help you better calculate your strength. At first, you will confuse this parameter with speed, but then you will definitely figure it out. You need a pace at which you more or less smoothly and calmly cover the selected distance. Somewhere we lost our breath a little, but we kept the pace and restored our breath — excellent, this is it. Again, this is more of a working range. Increase your achievements — hold on to the upper threshold, sleep with one eye like a sperm whale (and by the way, this is also possible!) — rely on the lower one.

Running technique: The weight of the body should be evenly distributed over the entire foot. The legs are slightly bent at the knees. Landing is rolled from heel to toe, resting on the outside of the foot. And do not run on your toes — this will lead to flat feet and pain in the calf muscles. In general, the torso is straight, arms at a 120 degree angle, clenched into a fist, should not cross in front of the chest. Relax your neck, shoulders, arms, fingers, jaws, tongue as much as possible. Everyone has their own stride length, but optimally about one and a half to two feet.

Breathing technique: Inhale air through your nose and exhale through your mouth. So the lungs are evenly saturated with oxygen. When breathing through the mouth, more oxygen enters the blood, but neither the breath nor the volume of the lungs develops. It will be better if you feel tired and breathe through your mouth intensively for a few seconds. The rhythm of breathing should not be too frequent, try to take the most complete breath and the same exhalation. Approximately in the middle of a run — to train the lungs — try, without reducing the pace of running, read aloud about two stanzas of a poem or two verses from a song, try to speak as clearly and distinctly as possible, without hesitation and delay, as in a reading competition. To determine the end of the run, note when you start to choke, then curl up — do not exhaust yourself — take care of your health.

Useful tips: Don’t eat or drink before your run, but be sure to do so when you get home and get out of the shower. After running, it is useful to carry out hardening procedures. Do not bring running to pain and stars in your head, before the end, gradually switch to a slower pace and then just walk around for about five minutes, jump lightly. Divide the distance you run into four parts and at the end of each part, stop, take a deep breath, stretch (shake) your legs a little and, taking a lying position, do 10-15 push-ups. So you will not only set up the body for the correct continuation, but also pump up your hands. Every two days, alternately increase the pace of running and the length of the distance — at first very little, then more, but without fanaticism. And try not to abandon your workouts — otherwise it will be quite difficult to resume them.

Before running

Before running, it is very good to stretch a little and stretch and warm up the joints of the legs (ankle, knee). You can come up with your own warm-up or use ready-made exercises from gymnastic complexes known to you, for example, Qigong.

The workout can be skipped. But before going out, put in your pocket the responsibility for possible injuries.

Complex of exercises: Walk at an intense pace for about one minute, then jump in place. Then it would be useful to stretch the legs and squat 10-20 times. Directly start running at an easy pace and gradually accelerate to the optimal pace in 2-3 minutes.

After running

After running, you can also stretch warmed muscles and joints. Do a little exercise and even complete a whole training complex.

You can end your morning run with cold water. Guaranteed energy renewal of the body and excellent mood for the whole day.

In the evening after a workout, it is good to stand under a warm relaxing shower. And hot or warm tea with lemon before bed.

How to work on running

Not everyone can run easily, beautifully and economically, not everyone enjoys running. And the right technique, style and way of running can be learned. See →